Posted on 09/05/2005 2:43:49 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
NEW ORLEANS - Police killed several men who shot at Army contractors; helicopters divided the city into grids and searched for waving survivors; and officials warned that the recovery of the dead would be ghastly.
One week after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, the latest issue for rescuers is residents who still refuse to leave.
At least 59 bodies had been collected from Jefferson and Orleans parishes, including 10 at the Superdome. But identification of the dead, with corpses bloated and medical records submerged, was expected to be a major problem.
The U.S. Public Health Service said one morgue alone, at a St. Gabriel prison, ultimately expected 1,000 to 2,000 bodies.
"It is going to be about as ugly of a scene as I think you can imagine," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Jefferson Parish, still partly flooded, has decided to allow residents back in to check on their property beginning at 6 a.m. today. Residents with a valid ID showing an address will be able to stay up to three days to assess damage and retrieve belongings.
Tales from those in New Orleans Sunday ranged from the inspirational to the depressing. A woman described dancing and cooking jambalaya for nearby nursing home residents for days until a helicopter arrived. A man said he was finally letting rescuers take him away because neighborhood youths had cleaned out everything he owned.
Police shot and killed at least five people Sunday after gunmen opened fire on a group of contractors traveling across a bridge on their way to make repairs, authorities said.
Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley told the Associated Press that police shot at eight people carrying guns, killing five or six.
The gunmen were firing at 14 contractors who were traveling across the Danziger Bridge under police escort, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers.
They were on their way to launch barges into Lake Pontchartrain to help plug the breach in the 17th Street Canal, Hall said.
None of the contractors was killed, Hall said.
The same bridge was the scene of a civilian helicopter crash, but the two people on board escaped with only cuts and scrapes.
Still, many people were choosing to stay in their homes, confounding a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats carrying a patchwork of city, state and federal emergency workers. The boats also dealt with gunfire and fear of water contamination.
"They tell us, 'We're OK, just keep bringing us in food and water,' " said Jimmy Breen, an emergency response official from New Mexico. "But that obviously is not a solution to the problem."
Deaths and danger
About a block away from a makeshift command center for a Federal Emergency Management Agency-coordinated operation, a bleached and bloated corpse floated on its back in the water, arms outstretched. Someone had pulled a stained T-shirt over the face of what appeared to be a middle-age man.
By late afternoon Sunday, 84 people had been extricated at the FEMA location. Ten were immediately taken to a medical facility for nonlife-threatening problems including dehydration and respiratory difficulties. The rest were put in midsize Army trucks to be moved to the convention center initially, and eventually out of the city.
The task force Breen headed included about 45 boats, 75 vehicles and just under 200 people, he said. That was a microcosm of operations across the city that evacuated hundreds Sunday.
One airboat was dispatched with New Orleans police armed with shotguns and M-16s to respond to a report that an evacuating boat heard shots and believed it was under fire several blocks away. The officers returned without having found a shooter.
The fear of the unknown motivated many of those who refused entreaties to leave flooded areas, residents said.
"There are at least 30 people at the Samuel L. Green school, and they won't leave, because they don't know where they are going to be sent," said Karl Holliday, 30, who limped off a boat Sunday with a badly sprained ankle. "But they better get some National Guard in there, because people are drinking a lot, and it is going to get a lot worse."
Dr. Louis Cataldie, medical director for emergency medical services in Louisiana, said there was an unconfirmed report that as many as 100 bodies had been located in St. Bernard Parish.
The bodies are taken to mobile morgues set up in two parts of New Orleans, he said. They're examined and then stored until relatives can be found.
The 10 dead at the Superdome had all been on respirators.
"If you were ill before the storm and you were on a respirator and the power was knocked out then I count that as a storm-related death," Cataldie said.
Violence grips community
The 9th Ward, one of the most flood-damaged parts of the city, has been violent. A small parking lot is full of police cars, all with broken windows, some with doors pried open.
National Guard troops patrolled various areas, searching damaged buildings, but could do little but talk to people they found in the alleys and doorways.
Kenneth Crawford, 47, had stayed at his home, but he said youths he recognized from the neighborhood had been systematically robbing him.
They took his tools, his stereo, his lawnmower and pried the air-conditioning unit from his window. He figured they were stockpiling items somewhere to fence later.
In the 8th Ward, a helicopter from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada picked up 25 people from the Annunciation Inn retirement home.
Raquel Jackson, 33, was glad they were leaving. She lives across the street from the home and had been caring for the residents since the storm hit.
She, her friends and family who live with her cooked, guarded and entertained them.
She said she danced for them in high-heeled shoes and made them laugh. She got on the helicopter Sunday, too.
At the Audubon Zoo, only three of 1,400 animals died.
It has the good fortune of being located on some of the city's highest ground, but it also had a disaster plan for the animals that seemed to work better than the city's plan for humans. The only fatalities so far were two otters and a raccoon, zoo curator Dan Maloney said Sunday.
The biggest problem is the low-flying helicopters that scare the animals, said assistant curator Rick Dietz.
Reporter Andrew Guy in Baton Rouge and wire services contributed to this report. Chronicle reporter Dan Feldstein compiled this report in Houston.
citydesk@chron.com
Thanks for the LINK.
It's unfortunate that some of the people most adament about not leaving New Orleans are getting so little publicity. They suffer the threat of disease, thirst, hunger, looters, or even death because they refuse to abandon their dogs. God bless their big hearts and unflagging courage.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3339653
Uhhh. Yeah. Just tryin to help.
ROFL
One of the most difficult books I ever read!!
There is, I am told, a Delaney discussion group on line.
This can't be good for their dogs.
They can get out and get their dogs out.
There are agencies set up to help them do this.
We are going to hear urban legends for awhile.
I would personally blame the hoodlums for disrupting the recovery process. If they behaved themselves probarly the rescue mission would be quicker rather than days.
"They can get out and get their dogs out."
That would explain why FEMA explicitly ordered that no pets could accompany the last several tens of thousands of evacuees bussed to Houston or flown to other destinations? Where are you getting your "facts"? Tens of thousands of animals have been abandoned in New Orleans. That's the reality.
**residents who still refuse to leave.**
I just don't understand this.
***Raquel Jackson, 33, was glad they were leaving. She lives across the street from the home and had been caring for the residents since the storm hit.
She, her friends and family who live with her cooked, guarded and entertained them.
She said she danced for them in high-heeled shoes and made them laugh. She got on the helicopter Sunday, too. ***
Another candidate for an invitation to the W.H., and a medal presented to her by President Bush.
****... With the flood, possibility of dysentery, West Nile Virus, dead bodies, violence, Sean Penn, etc...***
GRIN
I couldn't help but add Sean Penn to the list. I wondered if anyone would catch that.
Lord forgive me and bless the starving Pigmies in New Guinea.
HIGHLY recommended reading.
Dead Man Bailing.
Okay, I realize that what happened at the zoo is not all that important... but...
How on earth do two otters die in a flood. Isn't that kind of like a camel dying of thirst in a swamp?
That struck me too.
You'd think that could have made it into the article.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.