Nagin in studio being interviewed on WWL-TV
I'm watching. Last pickup of buses to go to Superdome will occur at 6:00pm local time. After that, curfew will be in effect. Anybody riding storm out in their homes will then be on their own--no police, no fire, no EMS, no nothin'.
Nagin: superdome open as last resort; 25-30,000 there; still nervous, not opening up other shelters; next phase 6 PM curfew---this will be last pick-up; curfew means lockdown no police, fire, ems services, except some police; will be pounded 14 hours; expect devestation, collapsed buildings,national guard, lots of boats in streets, most buildings expect to survive 165 mph, few 200 mpn, very naive to not expect casualties, so much water will topple levees; parts of city may be uninhabitable for a while; two weeks to drain city, pumps inoperable when submerged, max output of pumps 1 to 1.5 inches per hour; electricity maybe 6 weeks to get back, maybe a whole lot quicker for water;not really concerned about toxic water--pumps to be flushed just before storm; "its gonna be a mess;" white house called Pres ready to move in and help; pipelines if shut will cause big jump in oil prices to over $70; "God bless us;" people calm, no violence; people need axes to bust through roofs to avoid flooding;need to be above 2nd floor.