That being said, I'm sure there were people who wanted to leave, but couldn't. I just don't think that is a huge percentage of those who stayed. If they got NOLA down to 100,000 people before the storm hit, that is a huge evac.
Nagin says NOLA evac'd 80%.
Mayor of Biloxi says they evac'd 25-35%.
I have yet to see a single poster accuse the Mayor of Biloxi of committing homicide, negligently or otherwise. But similar accusations against Nagin abound.
I have yet to see a single poster criticize Gov. Barbour for the fact that there was looting on the MS Gulf Coast, or the fact that people had no food or water there for days.
The only differences between the two situations are that there was a lot more (a)water and (b) people in NOLA.
Maybe that's because the Mayor of Biloxi hasn't blamed the Feds for his failure, and yes, the Mayor of Biloxi needs to be taken to task.
I really have to run so just have a second to answer.
I think if the poor in Biloxi had wanted to go and a plan had been in effect to use buses and they weren't used, freepers would be ticked off at the mayor/Governor there as well.
I also think if the mayor/Governor in another state didn't effect his plan appropriately by at least offering the use of buses to those without resources, and then took to the public airwaves to blame the catastrophy on others - namely the feds - freepers would be equally upset.
And tens of thousands more would have likely left NO, whether they wanted to leave or not, if the evacuation was mandatory at some date prior to Sunday.
That and the fact that New Orleans was in a much mor eprecarious situation vis-a-vis the levee. As far as I know, the other Gulf coast areas would be expected to pretty much drain by themselves and not rely on human systems to hold back water.
That alone makes New Orleans a biger risk and evacuation more important.
SD
Well, I'm ready and now Mr. Peach isn't. LOL
I will also add that it's dishonest in the extreme for the Mayor to decry that help got there too late when he called for a mandatory evacuation too late.
It's been documented on FR that it takes FEMA about 4 days to respond. If WE can find this out, why didn't the mayor know this?
And as Mayor, why was he meeting with lawyers Friday night to see if he had the legal authority to call for a mandatory evacuation? How could he not know this?
This guy knew the levees could only withstand a Category 3 hurricane. They broke. Help didn't get there immediately. In part because his OWN governor told the president she needed 24 hours to decide whether she even wanted the feds there or not.
And I could turn this entire thing around. If 80% evacuation is so terrific and he knew that was about the percentage that would evacuate, then he knew he'd have untold dead with that category force storm.
So where's the big surprise? That help didn't get there fast enough? If four days is the norm for FEMA WITHOUT the water situation in NO due to the broken levees, he should have not been surprised at ALL. Also, when the anarchy started and FEMA had to withdraw and helicopter rescuers were shot at, did he really think things were going to go faster with those conditions?