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Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans

By Jeralyn, Section Huricanes Katrina and Rita
Posted on Tue Sep 06, 2005 at 06:21:09 PM EST
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New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has issued a new order tonight: Everyone must leave New Orleans, even if the police and military have to use force to get them out. The edict applies to those on their private property and those who don't want to leave.

Police estimate there are thousands of hold-outs.

The mayor also fiercely denied rumors that he had ordered relief workers to stop delivering water to those who refused to evacuate.

"I want to emphasize that I would like everyone to get out because it's a health risk," he said. "It is not safe. Mosquitoes that are biting dead people are starting to fly." The toxic nature of the water is evident from the smell of garbage, human waste and rotting corpses, and the slick sheen of oil, gasoline and other chemicals on the surface.

< Now Is Exactly the Time for the Blame Game | Katrina Dead to be Warehoused in Former Leper Town >

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    Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans | 9 comments (9 topical)
    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    CNN is reporting 5 confirmed deaths from cholera. This order couldn't possibly come too soon.

    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#2)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    I wouldn't be surprised to hear of many areas being declared hazardous waste sites. Once drained, the city may be too toxic to inhabit anyway. S**t whose running the EPA these days? Bring in the next VW packed with clowns.

    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#3)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:22 PM EST
    When they pour that toxic soup into the Gulf that will be the end of the fishing/shrimping industry for a while. BTW...I don't think mosquitoes bite dead people.

    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#4)
    by aw on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:23 PM EST
    So are they going to let people take their pets? I wouldn't want to leave mine. I just couldn't.

    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#5)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    I think part of the reason some won't leave is they fear for their property rights, especially the uninsured. Also, they fear being wards of the state, kept captive in a shelter.

    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    Decades of bad decision making contributed to this disaster I totally sympathize with the people of the gulf coast who have had their lives and homes destroyed by the power of this natural force we call Katrina. When a Class 4 or 5 hurricane comes blowing though your front door, there is nothing you can do to stop it. It also is true that many lives were lost because of a clumsy rescue effort. In nation that prides itself on civility, order, and first world technology that shouldn't occur and the people who were overwhelmed by Katrina deserved a much better effort. But part of this disaster was determined by human decision making. Decades of bad decision making that allowed a whole city to grow and thrive behind a precarious levee, with homes and teeming masses existing day by day below sea level in a known flood plain. Residents and city planners made the choice on a day by day, year by year basis to continue to build and grow roots in a "powder keg" of a situation, choosing to keep their heads buried in the sand concerning the looming potential danger of such a situation and such a decision. Now that the worst has occurred, there's no question that we as a nation are ready and willing to render aid in all ways possible, including rescue and immediate practical and financial assistance. But as we pull people from there flooded homes and give them a blanket and water, don't we also need to ask them the big question: Didn't you see this coming? Didn't you day by day, year by year metaphorically load cans of kerosene into your house even though a raging fire burned outside your front door? Didn't you both create this leaky flood wall and choose to live behind it? If only one person did this we would all agree that the foolish person got what she asked for, but since tens of thousands made the bad decision, somehow the collective notion emerges that we must rebuild and help these people reclaim there homes. Well, personally, I say to that notion--"Are you crazy?"

    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    I think they love their city and they don't want to go. They want to hang in there. This is their home.

    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#8)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:24 PM EST
    If only one person did this we would all agree that the foolish person got what she asked for, but since tens of thousands made the bad decision, somehow the collective notion emerges that we must rebuild and help these people reclaim there homes. Well, personally, I say to that notion--"Are you crazy?"
    You could have made the same argument after the San Francisco earthquake. You could make the same argument about bailing out the airlines after 9/11. I am not disagreeing here, just providing some perspective.

    Re: Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:25 PM EST
    Picture this scenario....a resident owns a home that has been in the family for generations. They evacuate. The home ends up being leveled. The settlement paid by the insurer or the govt. doesn't cover the purchase price of the luxury condo they built in place of the family home. I might stay too.

    Forced Evacuations to Begin in New Orleans | 9 comments (9 topical)