Shelter-seekers find long lines, noisy conditions in Superdome

NEW ORLEANS - (KRT) - As Hurricane Katrina pounded relentlessly on its roof, the tourists and the vagabonds, the poor and the frail dozed awkwardly - if at all - in Mardi Gras-colored chairs in the giant Louisiana Superdome.

When they got hungry, there was not the beer-and-hot dog fare served up at Saints football games. More than 10,000 refugees from Katrina dined on the same instant meals as U.S. soldiers in Iraq, fitting because it was soldiers who were watching over them now.

They begged for water and bemoaned the stinking humidity that made it feel like a tropical forest. They stood in long lines to use the bathrooms, and complained there weren't enough. They shuddered at the howling winds and prayed the storm would not tear off the roof, which was leaking like a sieve.

Local officials called the Superdome a refuge of last resort, and after spending a tough 24 hours in nasty discomfort, many of the people understood why.

"No sleep; too many children," said one of the shelter-seekers, M.D. Richman, 54.

"I felt pretty safe, but my daughter didn't," said Willanne Hughes, 44. "I told her to start praying."

Especially when the 100-mph winds banged away on the city's crown jewel. ``It shook - the dome shook!" Hughes said.

Local officials stressed ahead of time this visit to the Superdome was not going to be a pleasant experience. Refugees should not expect hot meals and even cots. And don't bring any pets.

Like the city itself, the dome has its color and charm, home to many a Super Bowl as well as the Saints - or the Aints, when they were losing left and right.

As Katrina bore down on New Orleans, anyone who couldn't get out of town or had no other place to go queued up for up to three hours to get in.

Mayor Ray Nagin urged shelter-goers not to bring alcohol or weapons, but officials still confiscated their fair share of guns and knives at the door.

Even as sheets of rain began pelting the city, the Superdome continued to receive refugees. Monique Garner and her three children were dropped off near the parking garage, but only after being saved by rescuers who picked them from flood waters off the upper level of their home.

"We thought the hurricane wasn't going to be for real," Garner said, " like all the other times," referring to the many near-misses the city has had in recent years.

At the entrance, Joe Barnes cursed the Louisiana National Guard members who were checking people in. He said they would not let him in because he brought Patches, his cat.

Inside, the new turf on the field - off-limits to the storm refugees - was in good shape for the upcoming start of the NFL season.

In the upper field-level seats, people settled in for a long night. MREs - meals ready to eat in Army lingo - littered the floor. On the menu: spaghetti with meat sauce or vegetable manicotti.

Ramona Delgado, 63, and Diana Chavez, 60, camped out in section 109, refused to eat.

She was sprawled out on a blanket above an oily aisle, surrounded by clothes and packages. Some people were drinking and some argued and fought, they said. Above the roar of the winds, they said little to each other.

Nearby, Hughes and friend Kathryn Alvarez sat in the dark and talked about the man who had just fallen from the concourse about 50 feet to a bottom level.

Soldiers standing near a pool of blood said they didn't know how he fell, but the good news was that he was still alive.

They and their families did not sleep much during the night. The lights went out in the morning, the air thickened. When chunks of the dome came off, the soldiers moved them away from lower-level field seats.

"Some of those soldiers need to take training in interpersonal skills," Alvarez said. "People need to know how to handle - some of them were very nasty."

There was the tourist family from Central California who got kicked out of their hotel and checked in the Superdome, hauling their luggage with them. And the 59-year-old New Orleans man whose disability check will not come for two weeks, said taking refuge in the dome was cheaper than fleeing by car.

Nicole Rios said she never watches television, but for some reason she felt compelled to tune in a few days ago. That was when she learned about Katrina and the Superdome shelter.

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The Sunday before the hurricane hit, there were many officials being interviewed on FoxNews (as the people queued up) that were saying there were plenty of MRE's and water inside.

Still, it was obvious that this was going to be a horror show. These stadiums are built for people to stay in them maybe 3-4 hours max. When I go to a stadium for a game or event, I am usually more than ready to leave after about 3 hours. The seats are uncomfortable, the floor is getting sticky and the bathrooms are smelling nasty. Can't imagine people living there for days.

When the news was relayed about the Super Dome being opened up as a shelter of last resort, the citizens were told to bring food and water to last at least 3 days; however, some reports I've read said 5 days. Either way, they were NOT sent there expecting a luxury hotel experience -- more like a camping trip. I think the MREs were there just as a backup.

Water Resources Division? Are you suggesting they ate all the MREs, and drank all the water?

There was plenty of food and water. They just didn't have hollandaise sauce and champagne.

43 posted on 09/08/2005 12:18:58 PM PDT by BykrBayb (Impeach Judge Greer - In memory of Terri <strike>Schiavo</strike> Schindler - www.terrisfight.org)

Water Ready to Drink. A pun on MRE.

If survival conditions were better in the Dome than the Red Cross would imply (the worst thing being the stinky, overflowed toilets) then it sounds more like news agencies trolling for sensation.

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