Jo's comment made me wonder if there's any way to link up volunteer transportation for any of the evacuees who want to take someone up on a free housing offer but can't afford to get there. I'd be willing to pick someone up and drive them a few hours closer to their destination; has a system like this been set up somewhere yet? Something along the lines of hurricanehousing.org, but with available rides instead of available housing?
Mac,
Do you have any more details about that caravan that left from Issaquah?
I regard some of the interdictor's opinions with a lot of skepticism, but the conversation he just had via cellphone with a New Orleans resident stuck at the convention center just kills me.
Although obviously he has no exact count, he estimates more than 10,000 people are packed into and around and outside the convention center still waiting for the buses. They had no food, no water, and no medicine for the last three days, until today, when the National Guard drove over the bridge above them, and tossed out supplies over the side crashing down to the ground below. Much of the supplies were destroyed from the drop. Many people tried to catch the supplies to protect them before they hit the ground. Some offered to walk all the way around up the bridge and bring the supplies down, but any attempt to approach the police or national guard resulted in weapons being aimed at them.
There are many infants and elderly people among them, as well as many people who were injured jumping out of windows to escape flood water and the like -- all of them in dire straights.
Any attempt to flag down police results in being told to get away at gunpoint. Hour after hour they watch buses pass by filled with people from other areas. Tensions are very high, and there has been at least one murder and several fights. 8 or 9 dead people have been stored in a freezer in the area, and 2 of these dead people are kids.
The people are so desperate that they're doing anything they can think of to impress the authorities enough to bring some buses. These things include standing in single file lines with the eldery in front, women and children next; sweeping up the area and cleaning the windows and anything else that would show the people are not barbarians.
The buses never stop.
And how can the FEMA director get away with claiming to have had no idea anyone was at the convention center? After four days?
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 4 |
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