No Agency Workers Hurt, But There's A Lot Of Damage

(The following is a message from NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, issued the day after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the northern Gulf Coast. --ed.)

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we fortunately have no reports of any injuries or deaths among NASA employees, contractors or family members at our Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility. Based on early assessments, both locations did suffer building damage from the storm, with no immediate indications of damage to flight hardware.

We also are grateful that the Stennis Space Center provided shelter to 4,000 people -- NASA employees, contractors and family members and stranded local residents -- as the hurricane moved through. The Stennis Space Center is still being used as a shelter location and the Center's parking lot is being used by Federal Emergency Management Agency officials as a staging area for recovery operations. The Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility will be closed for business while recovery efforts continue.

Currently, Emergency Operations Centers at the affected Centers and Headquarters are now open and will remain open during business hours as needed. As emergency crews begin the difficult work of clearing debris and restoring power and other services to the facilities on site, we also are assessing how resources across the entire agency can best be used to offer support to the Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility.

The Marshall Space Flight Center is already helping tremendously by serving as a hub for off-site emergency procurement activities. Two helicopter flights from Marshall will deliver communication equipment and other supplies to the facilities today (Tuesday).

In the coming days and weeks, we want to make certain our colleagues and their families get the help they need. While there is considerable federal and state assistance on the way, NASA employees can get involved by contributing to the NASA Family Assistance Fund at www.feea.org. The NASA Family Assistance Fund will provide a grant of up to $400 and an interest free loan of up to $600 for people living in declared disaster areas.

My heart goes out to all the people affected by the hurricane. I will be visiting the Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility as soon as possible.

Mike Griffin
NASA Administrator

FMI: www.nasa.gov