Friday, August 26

• Day 2 of EMS EXPO in New Orleans. The National Association of EMTs' annual meeting occurs concurrently.
• Federal, state and local disaster officials meet in Louisiana to discuss FEMA Disaster Declaration No. 1601-which concerned July's Tropical Storm Cindy. Katrina had crossed south Florida the previous night as a Category 1 hurricane, killing 11, and was rapidly strengthening. It was expected to strike the Gulf Coast by Sunday evening or Monday. "Shouldn't we just apply for Katrina money now?" jokes one Louisiana official.
• Army Corps of Engineers teams are activated in Mississippi and Louisiana. Gulf Coast states request troop assistance from the Pentagon. 10,000 National Guard troops are dispatched along the Gulf Coast.
• Governor Kathleen Blanco declares a state of emergency for Louisiana.

Saturday, August 27

• The final day of EMS EXPO. Many attendees and vendors begin leaving the city.
• The National Association of EMTs cancels its awards banquet planned for Saturday evening.
• New Orleans officials tell residents to begin evacuating, and Mayor Ray Nagin says he'll open the Superdome as a shelter of last resort for those with special needs. He tells evacuees to bring enough food and drinks for three or four days. The evacuation, Nagin warns, could become mandatory. (A 2004 FEMA drill had concluded that an evacuation of New Orleans could take up to 72 hours.)
• Katrina strengthens to Category 3, and the National Hurricane Center says it could be a Category 4 or 5 storm by the time it hits the Gulf Coast. "This is really scary," stresses director Max Mayfield. "This is a worst-case scenario." He urges Nagin to make the evacuation mandatory.
• Contraflow traffic plans are activated to allow vehicles to get out of the city.
• Officials in Louisiana's Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, Lafourche, Terrebonne and Jefferson parishes also call for evacuations.
• Governor Haley Barbour declares a state of emergency for Mississippi.
• Blanco requests a major disaster declaration from President George W. Bush that would allow relief to start coming. Bush declares a federal emergency.

Sunday, August 28