New Orleans Says Residents Can Return Thursday

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Times

NEW ORLEANS — A mostly smooth evacuation from Hurricane Gustav turned sour on Tuesday as many New Orleans residents trying to return home were refused entry at roadblocks into the city or stranded in parking lots across the region.

Mayor C. Ray Nagin said Tuesday night that most residents would have to wait until just after midnight on Thursday morning to come back because power and medical care were not back to normal. A curfew will remain in effect at night.

The delay left many people sweltering and frustrated at the city’s edges, out of gas, money and food after several days on the run.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/us/03gustav.html?hp

[rwheeler31]

1. Why?

[sandnsea]

2. The day McCain accepts the nomination

Sorry. It's what I think.

Nobody will ever leave again, if they're stuck out there with babies and no diapers and no milk and no water. The bastards.

[Mojorabbit]

3. Short sighted

It may make people reluctant to evacuate the next time.

[cobalt1999]

4. That's why I won't evacuate easily ever again.

Same thing happened to me after Hurricane Opal. The police wouldn't let people back home after the storm. Now it'll take a Cat 5 headed right at me to get me to leave in the future.

They need to realize they are just shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to the next evacuation.

Idiots.

[RantinRavin]

5. And if someone gets electrocuted by a down power line

Everyone will be bitching wanting to know why they let them in before it was safe.

[cobalt1999]

6. Nope.

The government should RECOMMEND that people don't return. The government should WARN people of the dangers. The government should NOT barricade people from their own homes if those citizen CHOOSE to return.

There are two parts to a successful evacuation. Getting people out quickly AND letting people back quickly. This evacuation is therefore a failure.

The next time, the government will have many more people in the storm, will have to do more rescues, will have to supply more folks, will have to do cleanup around a full city. They are being short sighted and stupid.