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.

[pa mom]

I know I would want to get back. If they are worried about looters, stay away. Then the cops know who to shoot. ;)

Yikes, will that enter me in the contest?

[floriduh voter]

Mobile looked pretty bad too.

[monday]

"I don't feel sorry for idiots like that, I think they should be arrested.And I think if a police or fireman is killed trying to rescue one of these idiots who decided to have a party instead of evacuate that they should be prosecuted for murder."

Why? Whats it to you if they kill themselves? The authorities had a very reasonable response to people like them it seems to me. They ignored them. If adults want to act like fools why should you care?

The funny thing is you seem to take it so personally? As if what they were doing is a personal affront to YOU?

You notice the police aren't in any hurry to go about rescuing people since the storm passed? They aren't about to risk their lives in order to save anyone. Some of the stranded people are even fellow police officers. You need to chill.

[Texas Mom]

I hate to be morbid, but could these be old bodies from graveyards?

You're not being morbid. It's a possibility.

[ohioWfan]

Well, I'm not saying don't pluck em off their damned rooftops.

Why not? If your precious tax dollars are spent in getting them off, it's a waste of your money, right?

I mean, the bottom line is always YOUR money, right? I see that over and over from you extreme rightists. Money. Money. MY money.

[Velveeta]

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.

The people who are trapped are "young healthy men"?

Do you have a source for that?

[MizSterious]

You haven't a clue. Not even one. When you get one, come join the human race.

[gathersnomoss]

This whole mess is......................Bush's Fault!

[Betis70]

Well that is a good point, and I must admit I haven't really followed the preparations for this hurricane all that closely, so I can't comment on what was or wasn't done. But I think my main point still holds--there are always natural disasters, and there are ways to ameliorate the consequences, but you can't live in 100% safety from such disasters anyplace in the US (or the world for that matter).

And if we placed all the places where FReepers have said "you should just move" (either because of weather or politics) on the Do Not Live List, I don't think there would be a single major city to live in or near.

BTW I loved Seattle when I would visit from eastern WA. Glad that 'quake wasn't bigger, because there are a lot of (private) brick buildings there that probably could not handle a really big one.

[neutrino]

Mayor: bodies floating in Bywater

Mayor Nagin issued a "boil water" recommendation for water in the city

Gumbo?

[burzum]

I hate to be morbid as well, but I doubt it. From what I've learned talking to police, if someone drowns, they initially sink (perhaps from the water displacing air in the lungs?). Then about two or so days later, they float to the surface due to the gases created in their bodies from decomposition. Later, they will sink again when the food for bacteria decreases and the porosity of their bodies increases. This is useful information for operations where police rescue people who drown in lakes (keep the boat around for about 3 days and wait for the body to float). Most of the dead from the graveyards would probably be past the point where the decomposition gases caused their bodies to bloat and therefore float (though I think it takes several weeks to get to that point--i.e. the Laci Peterson case).

[NRA2BFree]

I hate to be morbid, but could these be old bodies from graveyards?

Well, they could be, but most of those bodies have probably already decomposed, and more than likely they would just be bones. Let's hope the bodies are not those of people who were killed because they didn't evacuate like they were ordered to do.

[AdamSelene235]

an't verify the truth of the. But I've concluded that the best was to evacuate is by motorcycle,

Good for cutting through gridlock. Very very bad in hurricane force winds.

[floriduh voter]

bump to 236. It's called an opinion. I live in hurricane territory and my "opinion" is based upon how Florida deals with canes. They make people leave or sign a paper that they know they are risking their lives. Our law enforcement and other first responders do not go out at all until the storms are over. It's not the same as how it's done in Louisiana apparently. We also have a reverse 911 system where they call people so give them information.

[IronMan04]

Interesting view from someone from Florida.

[floriduh voter]

Post 254. Florida does a lot of stupid things sometimes but not regarding hurricanes or other natural disasters.

[Muzzle_em]

If it is a Ninja, you can outrun the wind.
:-)

[floriduh voter]

JFK JR, his wife and sister in law did what you described in your post. They were still in their airplane seats but the gas thing occurred. Their bodies looked pretty bad when they were found.

[burzum]

I agree with you completely that there are disasters that come out of nowhere and you can't protect yourself from. One example is an earthquake that occurred in Montana in 1959 that knocked over a mountain and cut off one of the headwaters to the Missouri River. If major relief and work efforts were not done in this case (cutting an emergency connecting canal for the river), many people would have lost their homes due to flooding. Another example is of a recent funnel cloud sighting near Seattle. No one knows how it formed (it completely baffles the meteorologists), and if it hit a populated area, it would have been devastating. Since preparing for a tornado is Seattle would border on the absurd, no preparation was conducted. In this case federal money would be allowable. I only argue for withholding federal money when there is reckless disregard for a probable threat. Hurricanes in New Orleans certainly qualify as probable threat.

As an aside, there was an earthquake in Seattle in the 1940's that caused major damage to brick buildings. For this reason, most buildings that are built today are a composite construction. Purely brick buildings are the ones that survived the 1940's quake (as far as I can tell since they are almost exclusively old buildings).

[AdamSelene235]

I motorcycled a through a tropical storm once for about 6 hours. It sucked but I made it. Won't do it again.