Superdome conditions

[cedwards]

People will be in the Superdome for many days to come. I am wondering what the conditons will become inside. There is no air conditioning and the white liner on the roof is gone leaving a dark, sun absorbing, roof in its place. It could be like an oven in there.

 

[Kurt Wayne]

Last night

Last night on WWL-AM, they were reporting that a riot was literally about to break out because peope were trying to get out and the police/national guard were trying to keep them in.

 

[B Ozanne]

I heard the Tulane Medical Center was being evacuated to the Superdome.

 

[cedwards]

FOX news is reporting at least 2 dead in the Superdome.
Probably heart attack or fights. It is likely very stressful in there.

 

[B Ozanne]

I heard that too about the fatalities. Some of the people in there were in pretty grim shape to begin with, that's why they didn't evacuate.

 

[Rob_Davis]

I hope to hear more news on the Superdome situation. As a student of human behaviour, this has been the most intriguing aspect of the whole disaster to me. I was trained in Civil Defense shelter management way back in the day, and the dynamics that develop from long term confinement in bleak and crowded conditions are only somewhat predictable. But one thing is clear, the more crowded the conditions, the more volatile the situation is likely to become.

I theorized early on in a thread on day one that the warehousing of despearate people in the Superdome had all the elements necessary to create a "Lord Of The Flies" drama. Fortunately, they were safe in that facility after all. But unfortunately, those people now want out, and looking out of the windows now, they can see no good reason to be held there any longer against their will. That can only go on for so long before it explodes like a powderkeg. Let's hope that it doesn't come to that point.

 

[Joe Nield]

CNN reporting that a man has jumped to his death in the Superdome.

 

[Rob_Davis]

:shock:

That's gotta affect the other 13,999 people in there!

I suppose that means they are getting news in there now at least.

What do you tell those people? DO you tell them that they are being held in the dome because there is nothing to go home to? I hate to advocate censorship, but I think you have to be very, very careful about what you tell those people and how you tell them.

 

[Aaron]

FoxNews is reporting on their website: "Louisiana Governor: Superdome Refugees Have to Be Evacuated"

How are they gonna evacuate 10,000+ people??

 

[Jeff Snyder]

She didn't specifically mention the Superdome -- she said that they are going to try to evacuate people from New Orleans' shelters. I'm not entirely sure if they are going to try to move the 10,000 people in Superdome, despite that it is a shelter. I just have a feeling that she was referring to the smaller shelters around the area. I could be 100% wrong though, and there's a good change I am I suppose.

 

[Aaron]

Here's the link to the revised headline

Governor Says All of New Orleans Needs to Be Evacuated
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167781,00.html

 

[Kim]

I heard on CNN tonight that many of the people who are being lifted from rooftops are being taken to the Superdome, including the injured. They also said that the toilets are overflowing. And the water outside is rising. They're going to have to evacuate, but I don't know how. I hope someone's got a LOT of buses heading that way (assuming they could even drive up to the dome).

It's a nightmare.

Kim

 

[Dave Kaplow]

How far does marshal law go? Is habeas corpus suspended, so that they really can legally keep all those people detained in a refugee camp (which is what the superdome has now become) by force, indefinitely? Wow. Forced incarceration of tens of thousands, police themselves looting... On a social level this is getting really ugly, fast.

Sometimes, in a disaster of this magnitude, people really pull together. And sometimes, apparently, they don't...

 

[Shannon Vasquez]

Rob, in your experience, what do you think would happen if they were able to start slowly evacuating people from the Superdome? It seems to me that it would probably improve morale for those who had to wait, but I can also imagine it starting a riot.

 

[Dave Kaplow]

For the record, true "martial law" has not been declared yet. What you see right now is the National Guard rolling in to help local authorities with the disaster. There is a curfew. That is not martial law.

Oops, not only did I spell Martial Law wrong, but it's not even in force! Yet, that is... I suspect it may be needed before this is over.

The reason I thought martial law was in place is probably because of a headline I saw over at Drudge Report that specifically says "Martial Law", although I admit I didn't read the whole article. But I thought I heard it on the radio, too. Damn media, getting it wrong again...