Posted on 08/29/2005 12:39:10 PM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at wwltv.com ...
Not to mention the children that weren't evacuated by their parents.
Right on!
I wonder how many idiots (many I'm sure) were actually WAITING for the mayor to tell them to leave, then couldn't.
So true. Never mind that some of them had no where to go and nothing to get there with and the mayor really botched it on the call for evac, waiting way too long, apparently ignoring the plight of those who couldn't easily get out. The superdome was a last ditch thing, what about all that time beforehand? And good thing the storm switched paths. Somehow it will all be Bushs fault, at least that will be the story the leftie media leads with.
fire ants
There were many people that did not have the ability to evacuate. The mandatory evacuation order was delivered very late by the mayor and no arrangements made to evacuate people who would otherwise have no means of getting out of the sitting.
Some of you carry the Government does not have the responsibility way too far. They have a responsibility to protect their citizens and this mayor failed miserably IMHO.
And there's another problem. The President had to do some arm-twisting to get the folks in Louisiana to call for an evacuation. A lot of time was wasted trying to get them to see beyond the "tourist dollar."
I don't recall anyone asking for your sympathy.
You're right. They were advised to leave, however and for what ever reasons, they chose to remain. It may interest you to know that there are some things many people will stay and protect, with the risk of their lives, if necessary.
Possibly not a noteably Commonwealth of Massachusetts trait?
I cannot believe FEMA or whatever agency would take care of this issue, didn't go ahead and use some of the emergency funds to evacuate with busses, trains, etc.
What is the price of saving human lives?
Wouldn't it be less expensive to get folks out before the storm, all in one piece rather than come back and rescue injured or pick up dead bodies?
The notion that the government should regulate society during times of calm and peace but abandon it during disaster is the very height of absurdity..
Well why shouldn't he show up, according to the Einsteins over at DU land, he caused it.
Jeez! Hopeless is too kind a word.
Some of the snakes have two legs. Yes, you are on your own if you stay, but part of the decision to stay may be that you want to protect your property from the looters. The news has already shown looters going about their business unmolested by the police (undoubtedly because their had more pressing problems to deal with).
So, since it's not in the Constitution, sink or swim? The government has the infastructure and know-how to help in disasters like this...but because you don't find that specific charged duty in the Constitution, they should all just sit on their hands? Major disasters are going to cause disruption at the local or state level, so what else should be done, then? They need help, at least initially, to get going again.
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.
I guess those cops were just stupid fools who should have just gotten out while the gettin' was good, since it's not their job to help out?
Yes
They could if they were old bodies.
Prayers for you and yours. And don't pay attention to the idiots on here who like think these folks deserve what happened. Most of us don't think that way.
no, that would be dogs swimming by with bones in their mouths.
I've been through an evac before and there are LOTS of folks who can't leave.
The 'home health' patients without family, the eldery who can drive OK around town, but never get on the interstate, the chronic shut-ins. The mentally ill or disabled who can barely function outside of their daily routines.
Look, no one hated evacuating more than I. I won't do it again. But, with that being said, there are lots of people in the world who live in the 'just barely here' world where evacuation is almost beyond them.
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