Damage report: Hurricane Katrina damages tech, energy infrastructure

Baton Rouge (LA) - As the initial assessments of hurricane Katrina’s damage are coming together, and as southern Louisiana faces new problems with reported levee breaks, we’re beginning to learn what has been lost in the wake of one of America’s worst natural disasters.

The Mayor of New Orleans reports that 80 percent of his city is submerged this morning, with a second levee break likely to drive that figure up, even as Katrina degrades to a tropical storm and heads north. Residents of Bay St. Louis, Louisiana, report having been devastated by an estimated 40-foot wave surge.

This morning, according to Reuters, an estimated minimum of 2.3 million homes and businesses are without power in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. As expected, Mississippi state government Internet services were down.

Electric service provider Entergy, which services most of the affected area, reports 790,000 of its customers in Louisiana, and 300,000 customers in Mississippi, are without power this morning. 124 of Entergy’s main power transmission lines are known to have been severed, and 150 of its transmission substations are out of commission.

CNN is reporting this morning that wireless service provider T-Mobile announced it will provide free wireless service to customers in New Orleans and southern Louisiana, especially for emergency services.

Trading in crude oil has topped the $70 per barrel mark in New York, reports MarketWatch. Late yesterday, offshore drilling company Transocean, reported that Deepwater Nautilus , one of its four semisubmersible rigs stationed in the Gulf of Mexico, has broken loose of its moorings, and has drifted off course. All of Transocean’s rigs in the area, including six other dynamically positioned vessels, had been evacuated. Deepwater Nautilus is the current world record holder for the highest-depth offshore rig in moored configuration, operating in almost 9,000-foot depths.

A Lansing, Michigan, television reporter reports on HAM radio operators who are helping to re-establish emergency radio communications in Louisiana. Her story appears here .

Maxwell Air Force base in Alabama is to be set up as the temporary headquarters for a joint hurricane task force, spearheaded by the Defense Dept.

The European Space Agency reports it has joined with the US Geological Service in activating last Saturday the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, in anticipation of Katrina. According to the ESA, "global space agencies will put their resources at the service of rescue authorities facing major natural or man-made disasters." The Charter has been activated more than 80 times since 2000.

The Hurricane Insurance Information center has set up this page with toll-free phone numbers, for policyholders with questions for their insurers about their current policies and coverage.

At about 12:30 pm ET Tuesday, the Dow Jones Technology Index was trading down about 1.1 percent, below the 3650 level.