1shmael
Really Really Experienced
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- Feb 18, 2004
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And the Democrats, too! 
Some Can't Evacuate New Orleans for Ivan
Wed Sep 15, 5:10 AM ET
By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer
NEW ORLEANS - Fleeing to safety was not an option for some people as 140-mph Hurricane Ivan churned toward the Gulf Coast, threatening to submerge the below-sea-level city in what could be the most disastrous storm to hit in nearly 40 years.
Latonya Hill, who waited out the dangerous storm sitting on her stoop Tuesday, said the official pleas for residents to pack up and leave meant little to her.
"Got no place to go and no way to get there," said the 57-year-old grandmother, who lives on a disability check and money she picks up cleaning houses or baby sitting.
"They say evacuate, but they don't say how I'm supposed to do that," Hill said. "If I can't walk it or get there on the bus, I don't go. I don't got a car. My daughter don't either."
Hill is among the estimated 100,000 people in New Orleans who rely on city transportation to get around, making evacuation impossible for them. Yet, no shelters were open in the city as of Tuesday night and there were no plans to open any.
The city was working on setting up a shelter of "last resort," Mayor Ray Nagin said. No shelters had been set up yet because of concerns about flooding and capacity, Nagin added.
At 5 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Ivan was centered about 220 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and moving north-northwest at 12 mph. Forecasters said Ivan could bring a coastal storm surge of 10 to 16 feet, topped by large, battering waves.
More than 1.2 million people in metropolitan New Orleans were warned to get out as Ivan approached, and those who could streamed inland in bumper-to-bumper traffic in an agonizingly slow exodus, spurred by dire warnings that the hurricane could overwhelm New Orleans with up to 20 feet of water.
About three-quarters of a million more people along the coast in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama also were told to evacuate.
Forecasters said Ivan, which killed at least 68 people in the Caribbean, could reach 160 mph and strengthen to a dangerous Category 5 by the time it blows ashore as early as Thursday somewhere along the Gulf Coast.
"Hopefully the house will still be here when we get back," said Tara Chandra, a doctor at Tulane University in New Orleans who packed up his car, moved plants indoors and tried to book a hotel room in Houston. Chandra said he wanted to ride out the storm, but his wife wanted to evacuate: "All the news reports are kind of freaking her out."
Nearly 200 miles wide, Ivan could cause significant damage no matter where it strikes. Officials ordered or strongly urged an estimated 1.9 million people to flee in a 330-mile danger zone stretching across four states, from Morgan City and New Orleans in Louisiana to St. Marks in the Florida Panhandle.
"I beg people on the coast: Do not ride this storm out," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said, urging residents in other parts of the state to open their homes to relatives, friends and co-workers.
New Orleans, the nation's largest city below sea level, is particularly vulnerable to flooding, and Nagin was among the first to urge residents to get out while they can. The city's Louis Armstrong Airport was ordered closed Tuesday night.
Up to 10 feet below sea level in spots, New Orleans sits between the nearly half-mile-wide Mississippi River and Rhode Island-size Lake Pontchartrain, relying on a system of levees, canals and huge pumps to keep dry.
The city has not taken a major direct hit since Betsy in 1965, when an 8- to 10-foot storm surge submerged parts of the city in 7 feet of water. Betsy was blamed for 74 deaths in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
Experts said Ivan could be worse, sending water pouring over the levees, flooding to the rooftops and turning streets into a toxic brew of raw sewage, gas and chemicals from nearby refineries.
The mayor said that he would "aggressively recommend" that people evacuate, but that it would difficult to order those who rely on public transportation to do so, since they would have no way to leave. In addition, he said 10,000 people were in town for conventions and there was nowhere for many of them to go except high floors in their hotels.
"They said get out, but I can't change my flight, so I figure I might as well enjoy myself," said George Senton, of Newark, N.J. "At least I'll have had some good coffee and some good music before it gets me."
Tourist Dee Barkhart, a court reporter from Baltimore, was drinking aptly named hurricane punches at Pat O'Brien's bar.
"I looked into earlier flights, but they were hundreds of dollars more and I wasn't sure I could switch flights," she said. "I figure I'm happier sitting here drinking hurricanes than sitting at the airport worrying about them."
Elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, thousands of residents, gamblers and tourists crowded northbound roads. Motels were booked as far north as Jackson, Miss., and Montgomery, Ala.
Mississippi regulators ordered a dozen casinos along the state's 75-mile-long coast to close at noon Tuesday, but many gamblers pumped coins into the slot machines right up to closing.
"I don't worry about what's going to happen tomorrow. We can't control it anyway," said Ed Bak of Fairfield, Ohio, who dropped quarters into a machine at the President Casino.
In Alabama, Gov. Bob Riley ordered the evacuation of coastal resorts. "This is a serious storm that requires serious action to get people out of harm's way," he said.
Along Florida's Panhandle, the sounds of saws and drills filled the air as people put up boards to protect their homes and businesses.
"We are just hoping to still be here," said Matt Claxton, an assistant manager of a Perdido Key seafood restaurant as workers brought the patio furniture inside.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Jeanne was threatening to turn into a hurricane Wednesday in the Caribbean as it approached Puerto Rico. At 5 a.m., it was about 1,125 miles east-southeast of Miami and long-range forecasts showed it could be near Florida's east coast as early as the weekend.
