Mississippi suffers some of the heaviest damage from Hurricane Katrina. The Gulf Coast areas around Gulfport and Biloxi are among the hardest hit. Federal and state authorities rush emergency supplies and assistance to the region. Gov. Haley Barbour says the death toll in one Mississippi county could reach 80.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host: Mississippi suffered some of the heaviest damage from Hurricane Katrina.      The Gulf Coast areas around Gulfport and Biloxi are among the hardest      hit. Federal and state authorities are rushing emergency supplies and      assistance to the region, and search and rescue operations continue today      in heavily flooded areas.  Thousands of people remain in shelters, unable      to return to their home.  NPR's David Schaper is in Jackson, Mississippi.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: And, David, tell us this morning, what is the latest?</s>DAVID SCHAPER (NPR News): Well, in the words of Mississippi Governor      Haley Barbour yesterday, `Mississippi was hit like a ton of bricks.' It      got the full brunt force of Katrina.  The fire chief in Gulfport,      Mississippi, called it complete devastation there, estimating some 75      percent of the buildings suffered major roof damage.  There are      significant numbers of injuries and fatalities being reported in that      area of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.</s>DAVID SCHAPER (NPR News): To some people in Mississippi, it may have been a bit of a surprise.  I'm      told not quite as many people evacuated the area as did in New Orleans      and other parts further west, because that's where they anticipated the      storm making landfall.  But the storm made landfall to the East of New      Orleans and passed overland up through the eastern half of Mississippi.</s>DAVID SCHAPER (NPR News): I'm also hearing about substantial damage in cities further inland like      Hattiesburg and Meridian, even up towards Tupelo in the northern part of      the state as wind gusts were clocked at 70 to 100 miles an hour even 100      miles inland from the Gulf.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: And it appears this morning, sadly, that Mississippi has most      of those who di--who have died so far in the hurricane.</s>DAVID SCHAPER (NPR News): Yeah, there are some wire and newspaper reports this morning of      as many as 50 people killed with as many as 30 or more being reported      killed in one apartment building in Gulfport, Mississippi.  But the      Mississippi Emergency Management Authority is only confirming three      deaths so far, and that was late in the afternoon yesterday.  But      officials at that point did fear that the number could climb today as      they reached some of the more heavily damaged areas today.  And it does      appear that the casualty figures will rise.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: And with a huge rescue and recovery operation going on, what      do you know about what will be happening today?</s>DAVID SCHAPER (NPR News): In Mississippi, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, or      MEMA, is beginning search, rescue and recovery operations with teams that      left the state capital here in Jackson last night to head to the Gulf      area.  I understand they did arrive in places like Gulfport and Biloxi      last night, and this morning they're hoping to use helicopters and      planes, even boats, to survey the damage, to look for those who still      might be stranded by yesterday's hurricane.  It's going to have to be a      massive relief effort.  The damage reports coming in are just hugely      substantial.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: And you're there in Jackson, Mississippi, not as hard-hit as      Biloxi, for instance, but what--look around you, and what does it look      like there?</s>DAVID SCHAPER (NPR News): Well, here in Jackson there are trees down all over the place      and really throughout the state of Mississippi.  As I drove down here      last night and through the day yesterday and surveyed some of the damage      myself, there's trees down over roads.  Many of the roads are impassable      because they're either blocked by trees or, as you get further south, you      know, the storm surge flooded out roads completely.  There's a lot of      local flooding, because the rain totals have been heavy, and there are      just huge areas without power. Electricity has been out really from      Florida into Louisiana and as many as a million people or more still may      be without electricity.  It's going to take a long time for them to get a      lot of the electricity restored.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: David, thanks very much.  NPR's David Schaper in Jackson,      Mississippi.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: This is NPR News.