NBC News: Rescue crews are leaving behind (uninformed) victims

Some people are refusing to leave. Rescue copters leave them behind. The crews say when they go in to get people, sometimes they refuse to leave their homes in and around New Orleans, thinking that the water will go down and that the place is still habitable.

They are not communicating to victims what the situation is!

How are people with no electricity, TV or Radio supposed to know how dire the situation is and that there is no option but to leave New Orleans?

There should be helicopters with powerful speakers broadcasting evacuation instructions to the people. At least they should drop flyers of emergency communications that anybody can pick up.

Do the people in charge of this rescue have any common sense?

Mike Brown ("Brownie") of FEMA has said that he is in charge.

The prosecution rests.

How messed up is that?

How can we know what their state of mind is, after what they've been through? They have no understanding of the situation facing their city.

I saw the NBC report. I didn't get the impression that the stranded person said, "I don't want to leave" and the rescuers just went away. My take was that the rescuers could not afford to take an extended amount of time to convince them to leave. They did not have the authority to force them to leave, so they moved onto the next person.

These people doing the rescues are the Military for crying out loud!

If you have to arrest someone to save their life, do it! Release them at the evacuation center.

Some areas are dry and people have stayed or returned to their homes. If they can get food and water to them why force them to leave?

...for the majority of the city. There are no stores or gas stations ot Burger Kings open.

The local officials said to abandon the city until that stuff and much more is back online.

There is gonna be a health crisis. There are dead bodies everywhere in the New Orleans area. You think people can just go back to regular life now?

Have you been listening to local news in N.O. for the last week? I have.

Even if we are flooded. See this thread to try to understand what I am about here. Believe it or not a lot of people do know how to live with out electric and running water or working toilets. Most of the 3rd world lives that way ALL THE TIME. A few weeks or even a year is doable IF THAT IS HOW YOU WANT TO LIVE.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4624477

The roads are impassable and where they are working it is too far to walk.

Have you ever been to New Orleans? I'm from there. The Metro area is not capable of sustaining life on its own now.

Mayor and FEMA director said that people have to leave the area until the basic services are back online and cleanup has begun.

and I am not talking about returning to places that are still under water. I am talking about returning as soon as the water recedes and then bringing the people the things they need to live. They are breaking the St. Bernard levee today, a fair bit of water will go out that way.

Besides, this is how we do it every other place in the country and the world. Of course a lot of people don't want to go back because their homes are gone and they must be sheltered indefinitely. However a lot of homes have not been destroyed, and will still be standing once the water leaves. Not every place in NO was under a lot of water. Some parts barely got wet. Open up those neighborhoods first and then bring other ones on line has they dry out.

Keeping people from their homes once the water recedes has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with grabbing their land.

leave.

My quibble was with the "uninformed" part. I'm pretty confident that the soldiers on the front line are doing their best to convince people to leave. I'm sure they are trying to rescue as many people as possible. It's like they are surrounded by drowning people and they've thrown a life preserver to someone who refused to grab on. They try and convince them, but then they throw it to the next person who is crying for help.

Don't get me wrong. The people who should be in charge of disaster response have fucked up royally. Heads should roll. I just think the people on the front lines are trying to get the job done with little help from above. In fact, they are being hindered from above.

Now that the storm is over they should be allowed to decide for themselves.

I think if I was alive and had food and water, I would get my self a rowboat and hang onto my house with dear life. I've been through hurricanes. I don't care about the supposed toxins as long as I have CLEAN water to drink I can survive. If I want to die has a result at this point it should be my choice.

Doesn't sound like reliable information is getting to people. But, barring widespread epidemic concerns, it's still a free country, no?

They are poor, uneducated and have never travelled far from their homes in their lives. Their place of residence is their place of security...it's all they have. So many people across the country do not understand why some people had some resources, but still refused to evacuate...the attachment to "home" and the fear of the unknown is very strong with these people, and perfectly understandable. Please note, that even with a mandatory evacuation, you can't force people to leave, to physically remove them.

excuse for the Fed in the coming days.

You've been through a Hurricane? So what. No hurricane since the decimation of Galvaston, TX can compare to this one.

If people were in Biloxi and wanted to stay -- I'd say fine. But now, the people in New Orleans are going to die. Cholera (already reported) can kill in hours. Malaria, Yellow Fever, Dysentary -- none of these have been common since NOLA was settled years ago, and the will likely be back.

Assuming you survive the epidemics, you still have other issues. That water, combined with the debris, will lead almost everyone to be exposed to tetanus. If your not up to date on your vaccination, your SOL. Rabbies amongst all the pets and wild animals will most likely spread quickley. Alligators, snakes, and sharks are all present in those waters.

So you've managed to survive all this, great. Don't forget that MRSA and staph will be endemic. Say you got a cut picking up debris -- this could lead to an amputation w/o anitbiotics.

The order should have been given, arrest all of those who will not leave volunteerialy. Suicide is not something allowed under US law.

*Now* I guess the order will go out to forcibly remove stranded people.

I can understand why they can't leave and rescuers trying to subdue a frightened person isn't something that will work.

Maybe the best that can be done is to leave water and food. How does anyone know how we would behave in the same circumstance. There aren't enough mental health professionals there. The place is devastated and the time for getting folks out was last week. Now the terrible desperation has sunk in...the adrenalin is wearing off.

Bush crimes....it's just overwhelming.. :cry:

Why spend 2 hours convincing someone to leave when there are 1000 people waiting for you that want to leave now?

When the people who are ready to go are gone, the remaining should be rounded up and taken out of town. Not sooner.

Can't imagine there are more than a few hundred people that feel this way about leaving, no way should they hijack the whole process.