Mayor: 200 trapped on Ninth Ward rooftops; bodies floating in Bywater

WWLTV.com ^ | 02:37 PM CDT on Monday, August 29, 2005 | WWLTV

[Smogger]

Mayor Ray Nagin said that 200 people were stranded on rooftops in the Lower Ninth Ward and several “bodies are floating in the water” in the Bywater neighborhood and in Eastover.

Nagin made the announcement in his first press briefing after Hurricane Katrina slammed just east of the city, but did plenty of devastation to New Orleans.

Nagin said that the 200 stranded people included 20 police officers who were riding out the storm at their homes in preparation to take over shifts from other officers. He said that boats would be dispatched on rescue missions later in the afternoon.

Mayor Nagin issued a "boil water" recommendation for water in the city - except for Algiers and the CBD due to a water main line break that may have compromised the water.

Nagin said at least 20 buildings in the city had collapsed and that it might be 48 hours before residents would be allowed back to their homes to assess the damage.

[ConservativeDude]

"bodies have been known to
float rise up to the surface before in the
New Oleans area.."

Good grief sounds like election day in Louisiana

[msnimje]

Where does the government get the idea that they can tell people when and if they may return to their homes?

Lot of people ignore these requests because they know they can. It is simply the people who are responsible for saving people's lives telling them they will not be able to it they stay.

[Calpernia]

And you know the story of why they ended up floaters?

If they sheltered in home to tend to infirmed?

If they, themselves, were first responders?

You know the story of these floaters because?

Please do tell. Maybe we can join in with making vile remarks.

[MizSterious]

If you knew anything about New Orleans and the 9th Ward, you'd know these weren't party-goers playing in the hurricane. Please, do a little research before you condemn these folks.

[radiohead]

Does that mean they get to vote in 06? (chuckling)

Sure. "...the dead have risen and they're voting Republican." : )

The Simpsons episode - Sideshow Bob Roberts, 1994

[burzum]

I think people are bitter about having to pay for people's homes during this hurricane due to the recklessness shown by the city of New Orleans. People always knew that a major hurricane could devastate the area, yet the voters never enhanced the levies. They talked about it. Everyone knew. But they did nothing.

Reporters were saying that only one in five homes was shuttered or boarded up. People saw the hurricane in the Gulf and assumed it would not hit them because they rarely do. Because they wasted their efforts on previous hurricanes that missed, they became complacent. This is, of course, not a valid excuse to get money to fix your home.

The fact that I have to pay federal taxes for people who knew about a risk but refused to fix it, and for people who did not even try to protect their homes makes me more than a little angry. I live in Seattle. We are prone to earthquakes (the last major one occurred in 2001). During the last earthquake, many flaws in the infrastructure of the city were found (including a major fault in a seawall). These are now being fixed, not being completely ignored. If a major earthquake hit Seattle, FEMA funds would be OK with me because people are at least taking precautions.

[monday]

"Why should the taxpayer pay for damage done to hotels? "

What makes you think they do? Almost all businesses have insurance which pays for their rebuilding. Federal assistance is mainly for individuals who have no insurance and comes mainly in the form of interest free loans.

Fema also has grants to be used for emergency situations. If you are willing to fill out the paperwork, and wait for them to send you a check, they will pay for things like plywood to board up your windows, or gasoline to power your generator, or ice for you cooler.

The government actually provides far less assistance to victims of natural disasters than is generally believed. If you are ever the victim of a natural disaster, don't expect much in the way of help from the Federal government.

[lmavk]

Now THAT was funny!!

[Peach]

LOLOL. I do believe you're right, MizSterious.

[Peach]

Disgusting.

[MEG33]

BUMP

[MizSterious]

New Orleanians probably knew that if they passed those bonds, the money would probably only go into the politicians' pockets (and those of their cronies) anyway.

[pa mom]

Low oxygen content in the air. Cross pollination from crazy Boulder. Windburn. Um, snowblindness. Yeah, that's it.

[steve86]

Thanks for sticking up for the disadvantaged. I have a terrible headache today or I'd be doing more of the same. Bless!

[fso301]

I recall hearing this morning that once mains power was lost, generators powering the pumps wouldn't start. Reminded me of that similarly well managed northern city (Detroit maybe?) whose sewage system failed last winter due to backup generators failing to start.

[floriduh voter]

Even the poorest of the poor have tvs and radios. It's tragic that they lost their lives but we are not invincible and buildings aren't either. After last year's busy cane season, everyone in the south by coastal water should have the common sense to evacuate. Even when Katrina was a Cat 1, at least 9 people died in S. Florida. Most were hit by falling trees.

[pa mom]

C'mon, someone did say we can pluck 'em off the roofs. I mean, that's heart.

[floriduh voter]

There's stagnant water, power lines down, no power, it's not safe for people to go home but they are probably worried about looting and they want to see if their homes made it.

[Texas_Conservative2]

So if a group of healthy 25 year old men are sitting on a roof with a couple cases of beer... and a rescue helicopter comes to help them... and a line breaks and the rescuer falls to his death... you think that's ok?

I'm not talking about 90 year olds, or people in wheelchairs, i'm talking about young healthy men who decided to ignore the orders to leave.

[mjtobias]

Mayor Ray Nagin

Nagin and the Governor are the idiotic duo and should be replaced come next election.