Three die during Gustav evacuation

Source: heraldsun.com.au

Three die during Gustav evacuation



From correspondents in New Orleans

September 01, 2008 09:55am

HURRICANE Gustav has claimed three lives even before making landfall on the US Gulf Coast, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said.

"We've got unconfirmed reports at this time of three deaths of critical care patients that occurred during the evacuation of those patients," two in Lake Charles and one in New Orleans, Mr Jindal said in Baton Rouge.

"We know they did what they felt was best for those patients. Every life is precious. We're working hard to save every single life," he said.

Eighty-four nursing homes and 27 hospitals in areas forecast to be affected by the storm have already been evacuated, the Louisiana governor said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24273691-23109,00.html

Had they learned their lessons from last time, this wouldn't have happened.

No matter who is in office, if you have to evacuate, you have to evacuate.

I remember the evacuation of nursing home residents a few years back (2005?) who perished when their bus caught fire. It was a horrible tragedy. :cry:

He's fine, but there are a lot of sick patients, and a lot of Alzheimer's patients that are very hard to move.

Let's hope they triage patients thoroughly before moving, and before they move back.

Remember the people who were left behind in the hospitals and nursing homes during Katrina. They were considered to medically fragile to move. But they are also the ones least able to survive being in the center of disaster. Any choice made is one in which some will die. All anyone can hope to do is choose the option in which the fewest will die, and you don't know that until it is too late to change options.

Leaving, not knowing when you'll be back or what you'll come back to? It's traumatic for the healthy. I'm not at all surprised it killed some of the frail.