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>>> "As for people saying there was an evacuation order(which the mayor gave not Bush BTW), I am at a loss to understand how shallow these "thinkers" really are. You cannot evacuate millions of people for hundreds of miles on 2 or 3 roads at the drop of a hat. Pull your head out of wherever you are storing it." <<<

The Mayor did not evacuate N.O. until Bush pleaded for an evacuation, and only then after the Mayor consulted with his lawyers. Only an absolute idiot would wait until the last day to evacuate when a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane is bearing down on you. Only an absolute idiot would leave all those poor, disabled and dangerous inside the city, when he had many hundreds, maybe thousands, of buses at his disposal. As for legal authority, the SE Louisana Hurricane Evacuation and Sheltering Plan clearly states:

"The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating."

BTW, where are your storing your head?

"BTW, where are your storing your head?"

Well, I have been storing it at friends in Minneapolis, another smaller home we have off the coast that sustained minor damage and a string of motels in between.

I will address the evacuation. In my view, about as many people as could be evacuated prior to the storm probably were evacuated. At a point many hours prior to landfall, people hunker down. You cannot have roads full of cars when these things hit. People who make comments that the storm was bearng down well in advance do not understand hurricanes. The forecast error is +/- 80 miles 24 hours prior to landfall.Double that for each day prior. In a normal storm, that is the difference
between a hit and a miss. The logistics is moving hundreds of thousands of people and them finding available motels hundreds of miles away is not an easy proposition. We do not get one hurricane each year but many. Which one is the one that will hit you? How many times do you need to leave for days and drive hundreds of miles? When Ivan missed us last year and went to Pensacola, my neightbor drove to Little Rock to find a room, and it was a false alarm for us. When these things get in the Gulf, you are competing for gasoline, motels rooms and road space with people from Texas to Florida who are also trying to evacuate! People who do not live here simply do not appreciate the logistics of evacuation. The last point is that this was simply the perfect storm, a hurricane unlike any other on record. 150 year old beach front homes were leveled so one like this had not been here in that long at least.