Opposing Digits

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Numerous witness accounts of the New Orleans flooding, including from federal officials, reached Washington the night before the White House has said it learned of the disaster, congressional investigators said.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman sent an e-mail at 9:29 p.m. on Monday, August 29, the day Hurricane Katrina made landfall and broke the levees protecting New Orleans, to John Wood, the chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

The e-mail, obtained by Reuters on Friday, said conditions "are far more serious than media reports are currently reflecting."

"Finding extensive flooding and more stranded people than they had thought -- also a number of fires," the e-mail said.

At 8:30 a.m. on August 29, Col. Terry Ebbert, New Orleans homeland security director, cited a 20-foot (6 meter) tidal surge during a conference call with FEMA, the American Red Cross, the National Weather Service and Louisiana emergency officials.

"The tidal surge came up and breached the levee system in the canal, so we're faced with major flooding both in the east, East New Orleans, and then out on the lakefront," he said. according to documents compiled by congressional investigators.

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

White House officials have told congressional investigators that the report of the levee break arrived there at midnight, The New York Times reported on Friday. The newspaper said White House spokesman Trent Duffy acknowledged that in an interview this week, but he said there were conflicting reports.

# posted by madthumbs @ 11:01 AM