Around $500M will be needed to repair Miss. Air Force base

Keesler's medical center had damage to emergency rooms and equipment.
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) -- Keesler Air Force Base, a major training and medical center for the military, needs $500 million in repairs to recover from Hurricane Katrina, a commander said Saturday.
Brig. Gen. Bill Lord, wing commander of the 81st Training Wing, said the base suffered $400 million in damage to the military complex and $100 million to housing, but there were no fatalities.
Keesler, which sits between the Gulf of Mexico and the Back Bay of Biloxi, was one of six military bases in Louisiana and Mississippi to suffer damage during Katrina. The hurricane hit Aug. 29, three days after the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted to keep Keesler's medical center intact.
The center, the second largest in the Air Force, suffered extensive damage from Katrina's flooding and has been shut down.
"It just rolled right on up. We got five feet of water all through the basement," said Brig. Gen. Jim Dougherty of the 81st Medical Group.
Alternative plans
The hospital normally would serve 1,200 people per day, but the flooding damaged MRI equipment and emergency rooms and ruined $6 million worth of drugs and equipment in the pharmacy. Dougherty predicted it will take six months to repair. In the meantime, emergency services are being provided in tents in the parking lot.
Normally, 16,000 people would be working at Keesler, including many men and women getting specialized training after finishing basic training. Instead, about 400 stayed on the base to help with cleanup.