Sunday, September 4th, 2005 |
11:32 am |
Oprah
and Other Latest Updates. A confidential source reports
that the Mayor of New Orleans and Oprah Winfrey will be sharing a
helocopter flight over the city today. Also, he tells me that the NAACP is
asking for permission to fly over the city to evaluate.
From
Sig's morning recon: People are pretty much gone from the Dome, but
there are around 100 who will not leave -- they are entenched and being
referred to as Die Hard Saints Fans jokingly by the authorities. They
would have to be forcibly removed. The stench from the Dome is sickening
and all authorities in the area wear breath masks; the trash is piled up
all over the place and human excrement is everywhere.
By the
Casino, the various agencies have a very big presence with mini HQs in the
area. Also the Dome and the Convention Center have large agency presences.
A lot of people still don't know where to evacuate. A lot of
people were so scared of looting that they kept their presence hidden and
are just now being discovered.
From an official source: New
Orleans already had a big homeless population. A lot of the already
homeless refused to leave without their shopping carts. So they won't go
near the evac centers, even though we have heard reports that the
helocopters will now allow people to bring their shopping carts with
them.
And, to top it all off, as if to confirm my earlier post
about government, the State and Federal governments are still at each
other's throats. This crisis is going to require some leadership if things
are gonna get better.
|
10:58 am |
Update A lot of tankers have been
going by. I'm not sure what's in the plain, nondescript silver ones are
carrying -- could be fuel, could be water for the rescuers and relief
effort.
Also, like you I've heard the rumors of cannibalism, but I
have no confirmation from any of the police.
The city really does
look like a ghost town. It's so bizarre to see streets which are normally
highly trafficed having such a limited flow of vehicles. And at night it's
weird to see all these high rises with no light coming from the buildings.
No street lights, no traffic lights, the clock on the Whitney Bank
building on Poydras and Camp -- a widely recognized feature -- is stopped.
The debris is still everywhere. Cars abandoned all over the place.
Abandoned and trashed. And the quiet. Aside from the occasional vehicle,
this place has no sound. Every piece of glass that used to be a high rise
window which hits the ground can be heard blocks away.
I wonder
how things will be different in this city when this is all behind
us.
Update: On cam, way down the street, you can see what
appears to be an armed military foot patrol. First one I've
seen. |
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