Disaster Time vs Normal Time
The way this disaster is being managed continues to amaze me. It's being handled so badly it's beyond incompetant and makes me wonder what's really going on behind the scenes. It's hard to believe.
This is a disaster. It's not just a bunch of people who want to travel out of New Orleans, it's a disaster.
You have a city that's uninhabitable. No food, no water. Obviously (seriously, isn't it obvious?) the absolutely first thing you've got to do is get water to people (immediately), and then get the people to other cities, that have working infrastructure.
In this situation you've got to think outside the box. Having buses leaving New Orleans with standing room remaining is stupid. Do you think people would rather stay in the SuperDome with no food or water, or stand on a bus for 7 hours?
And speaking of buses, how about this: Tell any city within a 12 hour radius to send all their city buses. This would cripple Houston's transit system for a day, but, remember, this is a disaster. Inconvenience in Houston, or Jackson, or Birmingham is irrelevant compared to the suffering in New Orleans.
There are people in New Orleans who have talked to friends or relatives that want to come pick them up, but the government won't let them leave. Why not? Why are the people in New Orleans being treated like prisoners?
The map I posted yesterday shows a clear dry path from the SuperDome out of the city. Desperate people are willing to walk a few miles to get to where they can be picked up.
Government officials keep showing up on TV and talking about what quick action they're taking and how much help is on the way, and then they'll cut back to the scene in New Orleans where it's obvious that the officials have no idea what's going on. CNN's just talking now about how many troops will be deployed "in the next 3 days". Why would they even expect there to still be people in New Orleans 3 days from now?
If they aren't getting people out fast enough, how about this: Ask everyone in Houston with a minivan to come to New Orleans with food and water. When they get there, take the supplies, load the van up with people, and then send the van off to a designated city. Thousands of people would jump in and help this way.
"Federal officials were not aware of the crowds at the convention center until yesterday" CNN just said. I guess nobody in the federal government watches CNN!
I'm not an American, but if I was I'd be fuming mad at my government for bungling this so badly.