ABC NEWS' THURSDAY NIGHT COVERAGE OF KATRINA'S AFTERMATH

A SPECIAL EDITION OF "PRIMETIME" AT 8:00 P.M., ET/9:00 P.M., PT, HOSTED BY TED KOPPEL, EXAMINES THE SYSTEMIC BREAKDOWN IN THE RESPONSE TO THE HURRICANE

KOPPEL ANCHORS LIVE COVERAGE OF PRESIDENT BUSH'S ADDRESS TO THE NATION AT 9:00 P.M., ET

"PRIMETIME" EXPLORES AMERICA'S PREPAREDNESS FOR OTHER POTENTIAL CATASTROPHIC EVENTS AT 10:00 P.M., ET/PT

-- A SPECIAL EDITION OF "NIGHTLINE" AT 11:35 P.M. --

-- ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMING TO AIR AT 8:00 P.M., PT --

ABC News will dedicate three primetime hours to coverage of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath this Thursday night on the East Coast. A special edition of "Primetime" at 8:00 p.m., ET/9:00 p.m., PT will examine the systemic breakdown in the response to Katrina. From 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET, Ted Koppel will anchor an ABC News special report to the entire network on President Bush's address to the nation regarding ongoing efforts in the Gulf Coast region. And at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT, "Primetime" will explore whether the country is prepared to effectively respond to other potential large-scale disasters.

Koppel will host the "Primetime" special edition, "Moment of Crisis: System Failure," during which he will look chronologically at the critical first five days of Katrina, from when the hurricane first made landfall. While both the natural and man-made disasters will be addressed, Mr. Koppel will focus on the latter and on how the emergency procedures that were put into place after 9/11 failed at every turn.

And with critics saying that the response to Katrina reflects a lack of preparedness by both the government and individual Americans, the 10:00 p.m., ET/PT edition of "Primetime" examines the government's readiness for three other potential catastrophic scenarios:

_ ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross explores whether the government would be ready to respond to a pandemic outbreak of Avian Flu. Ross investigates what the CDC and others are doing to assess the potential threat and prepare for the worst.

_ Chris Cuomo reports on the possible threat of terrorists detonating a nuclear device in a major American city. Experts say that there are surprising lessons about the survivability of such an attack, provided that people know what they must do in the immediate aftermath.

_ John QuiC1ones reports that scientists believe there is a better than sixty percent chance of a major earthquake occurring in the San Francisco Bay region in the next thirty years. Yet nearly a third of Californians say they are not prepared. With concerns about flooding and levees east of the Bay Area, there are serious questions about how ready the region is to react should the worst case scenario suddenly become a reality.

_ Plus, while the debate rages over local, state and federal governments' ability to help us in a time of crisis, "Primetime" speaks with emergency response experts and others about what all American families should be doing now to help themselves in the event of an emergency situation.

A special edition of ABC News' "Nightline" will air at its regular time, 11:35 p.m., with a live discussion moderated by Koppel on the issues addressed earlier on "Primetime" and the implications for the future.

Entertainment programming will air from 8:00-9:00 p.m., on the West Coast.

Please note: The regular Season Premiere of "Primetime" will now air on Thursday, September 22, from 9:30-11:00 p.m., ET.