CITY OF NEW ORLEANS THREAD

[David Wolfson]

The NOLA blog at http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/index.ssf..._09.html#075759 is just heartbreaking.... :cry:

 

[Kevin Scharfenberg]

Well said, Amos. Similar calls coming in to WWL-TV and the Times-Picayune paper that the officials are impotent to help. And it must be stressed, Dustin, that it was not possible to evacuate all of the old, sick, and poverty-stricken who do not have cars. Everyone knew this worst-case scenario was possible by Sunday morning, but it seems the national response didn't really begin til late Tuesday.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

When they are dropping supplies to the middle east they are doing it in wide open areas. Not a city with high rise buildings narrow streets that is completly under water. You might say drop it outside the city and ship it in that would work until they get shot once the reach the city, there is no doubt in my mind and I cant believe there is in any other americans that the goverment is doing all it can.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Originally posted by Amos Magliocco
It's indescribable. Those doctors Kevin talks about are calling the Associated Press for help after contacting the police, the mayor, the national guard, and everybody else they could think of. They're calling the PRESS.

CNN is reading a statement from the Mayor who is saying that it was an S.O.S. for help for these people. "A Desperate SOS", they are out of resources, and they do not have enough busses. "We are now allowing people to march" to the west bank of New Orleans.

 

[B Doss]

No end in sight.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/09/01/katr...pact/index.html

 

[Ed]

any one here familiar with LA politics......crupt from cops to the top....its called the "good ole boys club".... what did you expect?

 

[Karen Politte]

Well said Amos. Everything.

I'm really getting to the point of being unable to facilitate any more information about the N.O. disaster.

Bear in mind that this storm was a weakening category 4 or a category 3 when it hit the mainland. What on EARTH would it have been like if a category 5 hurricane had hit N.O. straight-on??

The situation in N.O. was brought about by the failure of levees - and was actually a somewhat disjointed effect of Katrina. She was long gone from the coast and it was Monday night by the time a lone reported from the D/FW market began voicing on-air rumors of some levee breaking in N.O. Little did we know........

I say that we need a tournequet NOW - not a grand plan to house people in some "dome". If you can't get to those people NOW and make life better for them NOW - then it's not going to be worth trying to evacuate them. There are sick people. There are women with babies who are having to use dirty diapers for the fourth day running. Soon - there will be critically sick young babies.

Start air-dropping supplies and basic sanitary provisions to them so they can at least keep LIVING where they are NOW.

An amazingly ridiculous state to be in, and a seemingly amazingly slow response from Washington. Hear hear on Amos' suggestion of Tejas mobilizing all of their manpower and "invading" Louisiana without permission - nothing could be better.

KR

 

[Anonymous]

I can't believe this is America. It is simply mind boggling. This isn't a third world country, this is a state in the United States of America. Obviously the state and local authorities are overwhelmed, but the federal government has been grossly negligent.

FEMA is incompetent. I can't bear to watch the Secretary of Homeland Security and the parade of talking heads babble on with plans and platitudes.

 

[Anonymous]

So Rick Perry moblizes Texas national guard, but it's up to Washington to mobolize LA guard? If I remember right LA MS AL and FL were declared a disaster area befor the storm struck. the problem is the people of NO, they represent a small number of all the people affected. but consume the most resourse.

 

[Ed]

thats me above

the superdome and convention center are not shelters. they are buildings of last resort.

 

[nysee]

Aside from the carnage at the convention center, many hospitals, nursing homes, and care centers are reporting people dying at an alarming rate because generators have failed and water is running out. Meanwhile, on the online national guard scanner, people are arguing about who is responsible for ferrying a general between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. We can drop hundreds of paratroopers and big palletes of water and food in Afghanistan and Iraq but we can't get them in time to downtown New Orleans to prevent dehydration. Simply ridiculous, and we MUST hold our elected officials responsible at every level.

There are reports on foxnews.com of dead bodies laying outside the superdome also. I would think those are people that died after getting there but maybe they are bodies their loved ones brought with them. also reports on th TV on foxnews there are dead on the interstate where a lot of people are gathed in meterie.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

Originally posted by Kevin Scharfenberg
Aside from the carnage at the convention center, many hospitals, nursing homes, and care centers are reporting people dying at an alarming rate because generators have failed and water is running out. Meanwhile, on the online national guard scanner, people are arguing about who is responsible for ferrying a general between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. We can drop hundreds of paratroopers and big palletes of water and food in Afghanistan and Iraq but we can't get them in time to downtown New Orleans to prevent dehydration. Simply ridiculous, and we MUST hold our elected officials responsible at every level.

yes we can drop big palletes but as someone said in another thread, military cargo planes landing every couple of minutes among commerical planes filled with relief supples does not make good news when you have looters and people walking in water

 

[Chris Sokol]

Originally posted by Dustin Wilcox
When they are dropping supplies to the middle east they are doing it in wide open areas. Not a city with high rise buildings narrow streets that is completly under water.

There are helicopters (eg: Sikorsky S-64 Flying Crane) that could lower semi-trailer sized containers filled with supplies into the smallest of areas. No excuse.

The more I think about things today, the madder I am getting at the response to this disaster. This is totally absurd.

 

[Kevin Bowman]

Originally posted by Chris Sokol+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Chris Sokol)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-Dustin Wilcox

When they are dropping supplies to the middle east they are doing it in wide open areas. Not a city with high rise buildings narrow streets that is completly under water.

There are helicopters (eg: Sikorsky S-64 Flying Crane) that could lower semi-trailer sized containers filled with supplies into the smallest of areas. No excuse.

The more I think about things today, the madder I am getting at the response to this disaster. This is totally absurd.[/b]

lets not forget dropping supplies from the air will only make the looters smile and more people will be killed because the animals would be in charge of the goods

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Originally posted by Kevin Bowman

lets not forget dropping supplies from the air will only make the looters smile and more people will be killed because the animals would be in charge of the goods

Are you arguing that food/water dropped from the air is better than starvation and dehydration? Yes, it certainly isn't the best situation, but I really think it's better than nothing! :shock: The dire situation from hunger/thirst and a feeling that nobody is caring/helping is probably driving more people to lawlessness than would otherwise be the case (pure speculation obviously)...

IMO, there should have been far more Nat'l Guard activated last weekend and set in far southwestern LA or eastern TX, ready to move in right when the storm moved out. Get the law enforcement folks in there to control the ground situation, and let them drop food/water from the air.