[Wolfstar]

Thousands of people wait outside the Superdome to be let in for shelter from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans August 28. Mayor Nagin said this was a refuge of last resort. People were told to bring several days of food and water with them. However, despite telling people they would need several days of food and water, the city did no pre-positioning of supplies or security at any city hospitals, hotels or shelters, including the Superdome and Convention Center.

Drivers and passengers wait outside their cars as traffic snarls on the interstate highway leaving downtown New Orleans August 28.

[Wolfstar]

Marci Romagnoli and Ruth Calain of the Gulfport Oceanarium, feed dolphins in a swimming pool at a local hotel in Gulfport, Mississippi August 28. Officials at the Oceanarium were able to move the dolphins inland to safety in advance of Hurricane Katrina, but the Mayor of New Orleans didn't even try to use city resources to move people out of harms way.

[Sthitch]

You have to wonder why the Louisiana State Police were not untangling the "snarls".

[stylin19a]

Conflicting reports on no food/water...it doesn't appear to be prepositioned but it was there before landfall

"About 26,000 New Orleans residents sought refuge from Hurricane Katrina at the Superdome, which authorities describe as the "shelter of last resort," Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu said late Sunday. To help keep them fed and hydrated, the Louisiana National Guard delivered three truckloads of water and seven truckloads of MREs - short for "meals ready to eat." That's enough to supply 15,000 people for three days, according to Col. Jay Mayeaux, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency Preparedness.

[cake_crumb]

There just aren't the words to tell you how angry it makes me to see what looks like a couple of thousand vehicles jammed up and unable to move while the two inbound lanes are empty. Twice the people could have moved out twice as fast if they'd opened the Southbound lanes to Northbound traffic.

On another note, Blanco was apparently saying on Fox yesterday that city buses HAD been used to evacuate residents before Katrina hit. There are no buses in those photos of the highway.