Wednesday, August 31, 2005
NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE REPORTS THE STREET SCENE
is deteriorating into a sort of jungle warfare according to the post titled "City a Woeful Scene":
Those trapped in the city faced an increasingly lawless environment, as law enforcement agencies found themselves overwhelmed with widespread looting. Looters swarmed the Wal-mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, often bypassing the food and drink section to steal wide-screen TVs, jewelry, bicycles and computers. Watching the sordid display and shaking his head in disgust, one firefighter said of the scene: "It’s a f---- hurricane, what are you do with a basketball goal?"
Police regained control at about 3 p.m., after clearing the store with armed patrol. One shotgun-toting Third District detective described the looting as "ferocious."
"And it’s going to get worse as the days progress," he said.
In Uptown, one the few areas that remained dry, a bearded man patrolled Oak Street near the boarded-up Maple Leaf Bar, a sawed-off shotgun slung over his shoulder. The owners of a hardware store sat in folding chairs, pistols at the ready.
Uptown resident Keith Williams started his own security patrol, driving around in his Ford pickup with his newly purchased handgun. Earlier in the day, Williams said he had seen the body of a gunshot victim near the corner of Leonidas and Hickory streets.
"What I want to know is why we don’t have paratroopers with machine guns on every street," Williams said.
Like-minded Art Depodesta sat on the edge of a picnic table outside Cooter Brown’s Bar, a chrome shotgun at his side loaded with red shells.
"They broke into the Shell station across the street," he said. "I walked over with my 12-gauge and shot a couple into the air."
The looters scattered, but soon after, another man appeared outside the bar in a pickup truck armed with a pistol and threatened Depodesta.
"I told him, ‘Listen, I was in the Army and I will blow your ass off,’" Depodesta said. "We’ve got enough trouble with the flood."
The man sped away.
"You know what sucks," Depodesta said. "The whole U.S. is looking at this city right now, and this is what they see."
In the Bywater, a supply store sported spray-painted signs reading "You Loot, I Shoot" and "You Bein Watched." A man seated nearby with a rifle in his lap suggested it was no idle threat. At the Bywater studio of Dr. Bob, the artist known for handpainted "Be Nice or Leave" signs, a less fanciful sentiment was painted on the wall: "Looters Will Be Shot. Dr. Bob."
As the afternoon faded, aggression filled the air on the neutral ground of Poland Avenue as well, as people grew increasingly frustrated with the rescue effort. Having already survived one nightmare, a woman with five children feared going to go to the Dome, saying that some of the men preparing to board transport vehicles had smuggled razor blades with them.
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The Dallas Morning News gives a 9:30 p.m. report:
Like a captain issuing an order to abandon ship, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco called for the total evacuation of New Orleans, a city of 480,000 people.
"The situation is untenable," she said Tuesday afternoon. "It's just heartbreaking."
Rescuers in boats and helicopters didn't stop to pick up the dead. They focused on pulling the living from rooftops. They cringed at the screams of those trapped in their attics as waters rose around them. Looting took place in New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish in full view of police officers and the National Guard.
Dr. Jimmy Guidry, Louisiana's state health officer, said no one can estimate how many might die this week. It could be a thousand or 10,000, he said. He said bacterial contamination could lead to a cholera outbreak.
"Clearly, that's something that concerns us because of Louisiana's history of cholera," Dr. Guidry said. "We're not anticipating a large cholera outbreak, but obviously that's a concern."
The infrastructure that sustains life – electricity, water and sewer systems and the levees that keep Lake Pontchartrain at bay – appeared to be crumbling. Pump systems that might have lowered the flood waters failed. Power generators drowned out.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked Tuesday night to plug a 200-foot breach in the levee of the 17th Avenue Canal that drains into Lake Pontchartrain. Corps spokesman Bob Anderson said military helicopters would be used to drop rock and massive sandbags into the gap.
"We hope we get that hole sealed by morning," Mr. Anderson said.
But officials showed no such optimism about keeping hope alive among those struggling to survive. To make matters worse, thousands of people who evacuated the city last weekend wanted to return to their homes.
"There's no way to have them understanding that there's nothing to come back to right now," Ms. Blanco said.
Schools might be closed for months.
