No shelter for those who try to ride out Gustav
Residents who stay are on their own, New Orleans says
New forecasts Friday made it increasingly clear that New Orleans will get some kind of hit — direct or indirect — by early next week. That raised the likelihood people would have to flee, and could come as early as Sunday.
Those among New Orleans' estimated 310,000 to 340,000 residents who ignore orders to leave accept "all responsibility for themselves and their loved ones," Jerry Sneed, the city's emergency preparedness director, has warned.
Gustav was swirling at an agonizingly slow pace near Jamaica on Friday after being blamed for at least 71 deaths in its path. Forecasters said it could hit the Louisiana coast early next week as a major hurricane: the first in the state since Katrina.
At a Big Easy ceremony Friday marking the distaster's third anniversary, the last unclaimed bodies were entombed at a $1.2 million memorial site. Some 1,600 people died in the aftermath of the 2005 storm.
"I think God is reminding us that on the eve of Katrina, God can bring nature back," said Russell Honore, the retired Army general who headed up rescue efforts three years ago.
As Katrina approached in 2005, as many as 30,000 people who either could not or would not evacuate New Orleans jammed the Louisiana Superdome and the riverfront convention center. They spent days waiting for rescue in squalid conditions. Some died.
This time, the city has taken steps to ensure no one has an excuse not to leave. The state has a $7 million contract to provide 700 buses to evacuate the elderly, the sick and anyone around the region without transportation.
Officials also plan to announce a curfew that will mean the arrest of anyone still on the streets after a mandatory evacuation order goes out.
Today, police planned to roam neighborhoods, directing residents-in-need to pick up points. The city also planned to reach out to churches, hoping to spread the word about where the buses will pick up evacuees.
In an effort to keep track of where people go after they leave the city, officials planned to give evacuees who provided authorities their information ahead of time bar-coded bracelets containing their ID.
Still, advocates for the poor worried that the message would not get to the city's most marginalized residents — and that could spell disaster.
Recent comments
Natures plan for thining the herd.
To many people = not enough room…
Jordon | Aug. 30, 2008 at 12:35 p.m.
Lines of people waiting for buses to take them out of the city grew…
Brother Chuck Schroeder | Aug. 30, 2008 at 10:26 a.m.
Your right here for those who stay will be on their own - however…
Brother Chuck Schroeder | Aug. 30, 2008 at 9:45 a.m.
