Posted on 09/01/2005 6:56:22 AM PDT by Brian Mosely
NEW ORLEANS — A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers.
The Louisiana Superdome, once a mighty testament to architecture and ingenuity, became the biggest storm shelter in New Orleans the day before Katrina's arrival Monday. About 16,000 people eventually settled in.
By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. A few hundred people were evacuated from the arena Wednesday, and buses will take away the vast majority of refugees today.
"We pee on the floor. We are like animals," said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. In her right hand she carried a half-full bottle of formula provided by rescuers. Baby supplies are running low; one mother said she was given two diapers and told to scrape them off when they got dirty and use them again.
At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to live for.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
There will be power so things will be different.
ping
But they are still receiving paychecks and eating instead. While I just read about a ten year old who had not eaten since Monday on the WWL site.
I can't speak for the Americans living through Hell right now but if a natural disaster came our way we can't leave either because son is so serioursly physically disabled that a hosp. is not even set up to care for his special needs due to not having the speciality equipment on hand that we keep in out home and that is on a normal event such as if he was ill today.
Only if he were so sick to have to be in ICU and medicated into a sleep phase.
Reality bites but truth is medically he would not be saved if a choice had to bed made between a non disabled ill person and him. I know this understand it and there fore have become totally self sufficiant spending most all of our income in having what he needs in our home.
Everyone should relize they need to have generators, food, supplies ect as if any day Katrina could walk into their lives.
OH BTW I bet Katrina is the worst name from this time out to name a baby.
The name Katrina will forever be associated with death and destruction.
Katrina is now the name from hell.
no
Actually the Iraqi's are probably saying "why are you here when you need to clean up america?"
sw
Dave, if you don't enfore order you have what has happened -- violent men and thug boys ruin a lot of the rescue operation. While you might rescue someone in immediate danger of death, the others must wait until order is established.
40 staff members at Charity Hospital need to be rescued, a staff member is crying on WWL. They took their family members there so they could continue to care for patients.
What if you don't have any of these things?
Did you read the article ?
it talks about feces on the wall etc....Do you think that is caused by the hurricane? While compassion is comemendable and Im glad you believe it is bad to judge others (except maybe other posters)I wonder if you agree That the people in the shelter should might share some responsibility for their actions?
The dome advertising says that it will hold 18,500 for events and that there are 32 restrooms, there are numerous sinks and toilets in each one of those. There are two walkways that lead to a parking garage or there is an open concourse cited in a recent article (which also, BTW, says the dome capacity is 77,000), pour it outside from there. Dump the containers for personal re-use...they have to have a drain in the shower in the locker room, a sink in the snack bars, restrooms or wetbars in the executive suites. It's really not so hard if you are creative.
""Since I don't think they're going to be confined to the Astrodome...I sense major trouble there too." "
There won't be any trouble at the Astrodome. They will treated graciously and the trouble will end.
You sound like a man with a plan. Just think how helpful you would have been in NO this past weekend and averted all of this disaster and chaos.
Don't know what hospital they are coming from.
Maybe you didn't think about what it meant when it was reported that the sewage was backing up into the Superdome. It means all of the "drains" you cited no longer function as drains. Water, waste, etc. does not go down.
SD
Understood. I don't think many people thought things would get as bad as they got. I know I certainly did not expect thugs to interfere with rescus operations. It's entirely irrational. Of course, the entire idea of trying to hoard loot in a disease-ridden disaster area is irrational.
Since the looter/thugs are no longer content with being a nuisance, they should be dispatched without delay.
SD
I certainly would have been more organized in my approach if I was in charge there, it doesn't sound like they had any security whatsoever and they should have had, even if I had to assign people to handle it (which would keep them busy and keep their minds off of their troubles). I definitely would have searched these people for guns and drugs on the way in...not arrested them, mind you, but I wouldn't have allowed any of that stuff in the Dome.
Correction then...you sound like a woman with a plan.
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