|
Scene in New Orleans resembles Haiti
Rotting bodies littered the flooded streets of New Orleans on Thursday and mounting violence threatened to turn into all-out anarchy as thousands of survivors of Hurricane Katrina pleaded to be evacuated, or even just fed. The historic jazz city has fallen prey to armed looters since Katrina tore through and it now more closely resembles Haiti or another Third World trouble spot in a refugee crisis than one of America's most popular vacation centers.Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco warned rioters and looters late on Thursday that National Guard troops were under her orders to "shoot and kill" if needed to restore order. "These troops are battle-tested. They have M-16s and are locked and loaded," she said. "These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will." Several corpses lay in nearby streets. The body of one elderly woman was simply abandoned in her wheelchair, covered with just a blanket. Officials feared thousands of people were killed but they could still only guess at the death toll. With much of New Orleans flooded and electricity cut off, hospitals struggled to evacuate critically ill patients who were dying for lack of oxygen, insulin or intravenous fluids. One effort to transfer patients was frustrated when a sniper opened fire on doctors and National Guard troops at the Charity Hospital and they had to retreat back into the building. At a city airport, scores of people, many of them seriously ill, waited for flights out to shelter and proper medical care before more of them perish. Experts warned of another possible health catastrophe in coming days as diseases flourish in filthy, contaminated floodwaters on streets covered in garbage and human feces. Sporadic gunfire hampered chaotic and widely criticized rescue efforts throughout Thursday. Residents complained police and troops had failed to tackle the looting and shootings or help in the rescue effort. "We found this one old lady who was sick. We tried to pick her up but the police just drove by. They won't even help sick old ladies," said one man who identified himself as Tracy. Military reinforcements descended and armored personnel carriers patrolled Canal Street, which borders New Orleans' famous French Quarter district of bars and clubs. Search crews were in a desperate race to pluck stranded residents from their homes, some clinging to the roof or any spot they could find above the water line. Survivors were still being pulled out, but the corpses were left behind. Senior Pentagon officials said the National Guard force on the storm-ravaged Gulf coast would be raised to 30,000, and 3,000 regular Army soldiers may also be sent in to tackle armed gangs that have looted stores across New Orleans. "We will not tolerate lawlessness, or violence, or interference with the evacuation," Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said. The boost would bring to nearly 50,000 the number of part-time Guard and active-duty military personnel in the biggest domestic relief and security effort in U.S. history. On the ground, however, there was still no sign the mayhem was being brought under control, and residents feared further violence and bloodshed once darkness fell. Thousands waited hours or waded through floodwaters to seek rides out of New Orleans. Buses began shipping survivors from the Superdome 350 miles west to another stadium, the Astrodome in Houston, although not as quickly as hoped. A million people fled the New Orleans area before Katrina hit but tens of thousands of others were unable to get out or could not afford to make the journey. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-09-02 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=128406 |