Forecasters said there is a better-than-even chance that New Orleans will get slammed by the storm. That raised the likelihood people will have to flee, and the city suggested a full-scale mandatory evacuation call could come as soon as Sunday.
Having just yesterday marked the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is not waiting for the storm (which has already killed 78 people in the Caribbean) to make landfall.
Cars packed with clothes, boxes and pet carriers drove north among heavy traffic on Interstate 55, a major route out of the city. Gas stations around the city hummed. And nursing homes and hospitals began sending patients farther inland.
"I'm getting out of here. I can't take another hurricane," said Ramona Summers, 59, whose house flooded during Hurricane Katrina three years ago. She hurried to help friends gather their belongings. Her car was already packed for Gonzales, nearly 60 miles away to the west of New Orleans.
A line of people well over a mile long stretched in six loops through the parking lot at Union Passenger Terminal waiting for buses out of the city. Under a blazing sun, many led children or pushed strollers with one hand and pulled luggage with the other. Volunteers handed out bottled water, and medics were nearby in case people became heatsick.
Once again, America is going to be tested. Jesus, Mary, Mother and Joseph it's happening all over again.
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2 comments:
Well, if there's an upside, hopefully the neocons won't think they can afford another fiasco like Katrina and actually DO something this time.
Or you know, not. It's all a bunch of brown people anyways, they're practically terrists anyways!
Word is McSame may even make his acceptance speech from the storm zone on Thursday.
I'm sure the residents of the Gulf Coast are going to be really thrilled by that.
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