Posted on 09/17/2005 7:00:06 AM PDT by Ellesu
Nearly 5,000 plucked from rooftops
The Coast Guard has released numbers which partially explain why the death toll in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina has been lower than expected.
The Coast Guard says that during its first week of operations in New Orleans, it saved the lives of nearly 6,500 people. Officials say almost 5,000 of those rescues were by hoist in areas where the water was just too deep or dangerous for the Coast Guard to come in by boat.
All of those lives were saved by the crews of just 17 helicopters, during 1,500 flight hours in the air.
The numbers released today cover Coast Guard operations which ended September 10.
Coast guard rescue crews have been out in force since then in conjunction with National Guard units, searching for additional survivors, but also recovering the bodies of flood victims.
cute story! I love those looks of "shock"
I think it's safe to say that was sarcasm.
I think it was Nagin's school helicopers that did most of the life-saving.
I'm guessing rowboats would be impractical or could get swamped, and motorboat propellors could get tangled in power lines, street signs, antennas or satellite dishes.
One of my FReeper friends was just in Cleveland on a business trip--wish I could have hooked him up with some local FReepers--he was pretty lonely in the evenings--except for me! :o) And, I'm in Texas! LOL!
I'm retired. But my son, is active duty and arrived about a week and a half ago at Zephyr Stadium in Jefferson Parish and is making forays into the city, knocking on 2nd floor windows. They've pulled several folks out of their attic's. He has seen every state in the Union represented and is very proud to be there. We are very proud of him.
All of those lives were saved by the crews of just 17 helicopters, during 1,500 flight hours in the air.
This just about makes you sob with joy and gratitude
Doesn't it? I was marveling at the accomplishments...until I read this...and realized what an incredibly spectacular job it was.
Never have so many been saved by so few...
Please tell your son I said
Thank You for your sevice to our country.
It had better be!
Thank you for your service, guarding our shores and saving lives!!!
Bump.
I feel blessed to be here with such great Americans! Thank you, OLA!!
golly, it would have been nice to entertain your(our) FReeper buddy. If he/she makes this trip again, please let us know okay?
I will! Sometimes I think I know where people live, but I really dropped the ball on this one! What a dork I can be! *slapping forehead* LOL!
Were you or your unit brought into this?
Some base personnel and Auxiliary personnel signed up
as volunteers.
They are still waiting to see what happens.
Yes.
Thank you for posting this.
17 helicopters. 1500 flying hours. 7 days. On average, each of those helicopters was in the air 12.6 hours per day. Add the time to offload evacuees each sortie, time to refuel when needed, and probably some time for maintenance. This is outstanding mission performance.
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