Just watched video from WDSU in New Orleans showing utter chaos and deep anger at the convention center. They have no food and no water and no opportunity to get any with no one in charge. The crowds chant to the cameras: Help! Help! Help! No, these are not looters. They are people who sought help and found none.
The AP says the city is descending into anarchy:
Fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. “This is a desperate SOS,” the mayor said.Anger mounted across the ruined city, with thousands of storm victims increasingly hungry, desperate and tired of waiting for buses to take them out.
“We are out here like pure animals. We don’t have help,” the Rev. Issac Clark, 68, said outside the New Orleans Convention Center, where corpses lay in the open and he and other evacuees complained that they were dropped off and given nothing – no food, no water, no medicine….
About 15,000 to 20,000 people who had taken shelter at the convention center to await buses were growing angry and restless in what appeared to be a potentially explosive situation. In hopes of defusing it, the mayor said the evacuees would be allowed to march to a nearby expressway to try to find a way out.
If nothing else, why can’t they do a food and water drop? For ChristSake, if they could make drops in Afghanistan and Indonesia, why can’t they do it here?
I hate to say this, but what did we expect from a lawless city in the first place. Anyone who has visited NO knows that unless you stayed on the well traveled streets you traveled at your own peril. Street crime had become rapant in that city. I’m not saying that the poor souls who are suffering at that dome deserve any of what is happening to them, but what else were we to expect from the leadership of that city? Pointing fingers (MSM’s forte) is an effort in futility. What is needed now is for cool calm and experienced personel to take over the rescue and evauation of these unfortunate victims, and I believe this is being done. Isn’t it just like us Americans to watch this tragedy unfold and then expect instant results. What we are witnessing is the aftermath of a catagory 4 hurricane that hit one of the worst run cities in America. It is my hope and prayer that we can save as many people as possible, but it would be unrealistic to believe that no one will suffer or that there is a quick fix for the problems they are experiencing. BTW this tragedy is being brought to you by mother nature and NOT G.W. Bush
I appeared to me and I watched that same clip that most of these people probably got state and federal help every month !
I’m sure that having your subsidized “life existence” disrupted by a catastrophe is tramatic ! And the solution, loot ! By God, God dealt you an ugly hand so what you should do is steal every fricking thing you can get your hands on and MAKE sure 1 thing is a gun and shoot other people.
Was the govrrnment wrong ? Sure. BUt put the FIRST Blame on the Mayor of NO, and the second blame on the Governor Of LA.
Both had resources to avert much of this disaster ! By issuing warning earlier., By ordering evacution earlier, and finally by, issuing and redirecting all STATE resources earlier. Incidentally, the Governor of MS is no less guilty!
Are there any private citizens able to get boats into the area, or private planes that can make drops?
I’ve donated to red cross and another place, but it’s frustrating as nothing’s happening. I’d rather give to someone who can get in there NOW!
I mean I can’t believe Blanco was not reading Dr. Master’s blog or Steve Gregory’s blog on wunderground Both said on Thursday er maybe early Friday to get everybody out of NO ! Did Blanco Heed The Warning ? Did the Mayor Of NO ? The blame must be placed LOCALLY city, state ! They fell asleep at the wheel !
There have been reports of private citizens going in with boats, etc. But, since someone shot at a helicopter this a.m., and the helicopters aren’t going over any more, and some of the private citizens may have been warned away.
What’s driving me nuts is that there seems to be an incredibly slow response on the part of the National Guard. Are so many of our people over in Iraq that we don’t have enough to help out with this disaster? If that’s the case, it’s absolutely pathethic…
What was even more pathetic was watching an expert from the Army Corps of Engineers talk out of his posterior last night in a lame effort to justify why the levees weren’t improved to protect N.O. from a category 4 hurricane. Regardless of the fact that there is (was?) an amazing amount of American history in that place, there is no adequate excuse for not putting the money into re-enforcing the levees. We can police the rest of the world, and send aid to people all over the place, but we can’t find the funds to take care of our own infrastructure?? N.O. was a disaster waiting to happen–and it did. There is no justification for the fiscal irresponsibility that allowed the levees to remain sub-standard.
To tonynobaloney, my response is that a better screen handle for you might be tonyi’manidiot. Sorry, I’ve just violated one of my own Christian beliefs. I’ve just crawled down into the gutter to engage one of the least of God’s creatures. Lord, forgive me.
Dave, in spite of your ignorance, I love you. There. I feel better now.
Steve, I disagree with much of what I read in here also. You are forgiven. Sometimes it just feels good to vent.
I too saw that feed from WDSU and was moved by what appears to be an incredibly desperate situation at the Convention Center. The helplessness is felt all the way up here in NH where we can make all the donations in the world, but can’t do anything for those folks stuck there at the moment. I also watched Gov. Blanco’s news conference this afternoon and have decided that she is clueless. Compassionate and empathetic, but completely clueless and utterly befuddled. This catastrophe needs a full blown, out-of-central casting, inspirational LEADER!
dave atkins, you are so right!!! so many of those people cant support themself in a perfect world, and now that it is imperfect, their only response in looting, shooting and utter lawlessness!!! Why didn’t these people evacuate when they were warned of the danger???, thank god we have the means to predict the path of hurricanes. But it is always someone else’s fault, someone else is always to blame when your handout doesn’t come fast enough! how about taking responsibility for your own life and not always depend on others for handouts!!!!
1> A mandatory evacuation order is given.
2> The super dome is set up to accept those who don’t heed the order.
3> Thousands of people don’t evacuate and many of those didn’t go to shelters.
4> Thousands die.
The government simply didn’t do a good enough job of convincing the people that they were in grave danger. Simple as that. These people weren’t suicidal they were uninformed.
[...] Chaos:4. National Guard shoving water off the backs of trucks. They’re just pushing it off without stopping, people don’t even know it’s there at first—they drop it on the side in debris, there’s no sign or distribution point—people are scared to go near it at first, because the drop points are guarded by troops or federal agents with assault rifles who don’t let people come near them, which scares people off. It is a mess. When people actually get to the water, they are in such a rush to get it that one family left their small child behind and forget about him until Sig carried him back to the family.Chaos:Thousands of people forced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina have crammed into the New Orleans convention center, where they’ve had no food, no water and no word on when help would come. And people are dying. CNN’s Chris Lawrence described “many, many” bodies, inside and outside the facility on New Orleans’ Riverwalk. “There are multiple people dying at the convention center,” he said. “There was an old woman, dead in a wheelchair with a blanket draped over her, pushed up against a wall. Horrible, horrible conditions. “We saw a man who went into a seizure, literally dying right in front of us.” People were “being forced to lived like animals,” Lawrence said—surrounded by piles of trash and feces.Chaos:Fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. “This is a desperate SOS,” the mayor said. [...]
Guy from FEMA on PBS. complaining about communication problems. after 911 and the NYC blackout, it’s well known that cell phones are useless in an emergency. I’m really surprised that emergency folks don’t have satellite communications.
Yesterday I read a report from the mayor that cops out on patrol have no central location to go to for food and rest. They are supposed to grap food as they go.
Huh?
You mean the city of New Orleans didn’t even plan to feed the EMERGENCY workers? Oh, c;mon. A city in a hurricane area and a flood plain had 24 hours worth of food for the cops????
Wait, it’s Bush’s fault.
Yep that’s right. Lots of the people left behind were those on government assistance of one kind or another. Many of them are working poor. The blind belief of the conservative section of our society that everyone (Notice that I say everyone, not anyone.) who wants to work can find a job and that all of those jobs can support the people who work them always amazes me. No one needs any government aid and the working poor are some kind of liberal myth according to these people. They just don’t want to work and/or don’t work hard enough. It’s always their fault and the conservatives can always find some specific examples to prove to themselves that it’s true about all of the poor not just some of them.
How about this one, folks? The hurricane hit when these people have the least amount of money during the month, right at the end before they get their checks for the ones getting aid and before paychecks are handed out for the ones who work. Those who live from check to check, whatever its source didn’t have any resources to use to get away.
[...] – NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) — New Orleans’ Charity Hospital halted efforts to evacuate its patients after it came under sniper fire; New Orleans Mayor Issues ‘Desperate SOS’ as stricken city dives descends into chaos; Buzzmachine says Federalize it now… (Various) [...]
Ah Gina, watching Fox again?
Yes, there were many stupid/stubborn people who wanted to brave the storm in their homes.
But there are a LOT of poor people, who own no cars, who ride the St. Charles trolley to and from work every day.
How the hell do they get out?
I guess they should gave just bootstrapped themselves into millionarie-hood.
Like W. He worked really hard to get where he is.
Jim S has it exactly right. So people get the orders to evacuate. OK, evaculate to where? How do they get there if they don’t have transportation. How far do you think these people would get if they had walked, especially the elderly, the sick, the very young. How do they pay for lodging, even if they could even find it. People like Gina H seem to think everyone is born with a car in their garage and money in their pocket. Oh, I forgot, it’s so much easier to blame the victims.
BTW, love your compassion, Gina. You and your ilk absolutely make me sick!!
And there are rich white people stuck too.
That should get W on the move.
The transcript of the interview is rather revealing.
i have no compassion?? yea maybe you’re right. I have no compassion for people who rape, rob, loot , steal from others…at anytime, even when they are desperate. I can understand taking food and clothing, things necessary to live. but tv’s, dvd, computers, beer, what the hell are people going to do with this stuff right now. yea, guess i am just heartless.
NO PLAN, JUST BUSH BUSINESS AS USUAL
Listening to FEMA director Michael Brown speaking of no Problems with law and order in New Orleans while there is gunfire at medical evacuation helicopters, is frighteningly typical of the Bush administration and the Republican right’s response to reality. From FOX news continuing to cry in loud voices that global warming cannot be related to the worst disaster in the known natural history OF New Orleans, to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff ignoring video recorded news footage while pretending that what is happening before his eyes is not real if it hasn’t been reported to him personally is so ridiculous as to cause hysterical laughter were the horror of it not so distressing. President Bush’s response is to say the efforts are only beginning—four days after the hurricane has passed—and, as usual, asks the American people to be patient, not to ask the wrong questions, and never, ever, expect his administration to have a plan.
Where are the rescue plans that would have been prepared by an administration that took seriously the possibility that the levies might have been breached by a terrorists’ nuclear bomb? Where is the standing order that Homeland Security is immediately responsible for rescue and evacuation? Instead Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff repeats endlessly that he has and will give the State anything it asks for. Hello! They were asking the day they were devastated; maybe before when the evacuation order and warnings were given. Where are the local and federal communications systems not dependent on power lines that can be instantaneously shut down in a computer attack by terrorists, or simply taken down by wind and water? Was there a report given this administration concerning the part that lack of communication played in the 911 disaster? What happened to the billions of dollars we supposedly threw at these problems? Where is the local storage center that should, like a reasonable householder, have stashed food and water against just such a frightful situation? Lucky America we were given Katrina as a wake up call. Get these self-serving, irresponsible people out of power before they can totally destroy your and my America. Now is the time for all good men and women to take charge of your party, whichever one it is.
To add to my angst about this administration’s mishandling of practically everything they touch–more later on this–I read that U.N. Sec. Gen. Annan has offered Bush any assistance needed, including rescue workers, lanes for evacuation, food and water. So far Bush has ignored this needed helping hand. Could it be that he is too proud to allow someone he has bad mouthed relentlessly, and who he sent the likes of Bolton, to assist helpless Americans. I think it could be. Go it alone seems to be his credo from Iraq to Katrina. What a leader.
Oh, and the etc. mentioned above: alleged election fraud, lies about WMD, outing Wilson in retaliation for outing him, setting the stage for the torture in Abu Ghraib, sweetheart deals with Haliburton, distortion of government stats–I know this one personally because I saw stats on web pages used for grant writing change before my eyes, and much more before Katrina. What next? Only the voters will tell.