According to a report by ABC,the message from New Orleans' mayor Ray Nagin was menacing. Whenever “got to” is used/heard/read, we must assume that something serious is about to happen. Hurricane Gustav is baring down on New Orleans.
People listened, not wanting to repeat the chaotic scenes of Katrina in 2005. Union Passenger Station was just about the only part of town bustling with people, catching buses out of town.
Although people heeded Nagin's warning, many people did so reluctantly. Miriel Wright, an uptown New Orleans' resident for more than 4 decades, says that “I'm nervous, but I love New Orleans so I'll come back”.
Meanwhile, some families are still angry at Nagin. For example, when the mandatory evacuation order came, on woman shouted at Nagin that “You scared the hell out of me” as Nagin stopped by Union Passenger Station to see off some of the last buses. Nagin replied that “You've got to go, (but) we'll get you back”. Disabled residents were helped onto these buses.
Nagin seemed to be unaffected by the woman's outburst. Talking to reporters, Nagin mused “Hey, it's one less person to have to rescue”. Several families who planned to ride out the storm in their homes said that Nagin pushed them to leave with a heated press conference.
Regarding the mandatory evacuation order, Nagin told abcnews.com that “It was absolutely the right message to send”.
In an effort to prevent/limit looting, a dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. The basic message is clear: no one is allowed to roam the streets so and people who want to ride out the storm are on their own.
Also, in contrast to Katrina, the sick and needy were flown out well in advance of Gustav's expected wrath. Paul Finholt, who has retinal cancer, was relieved: “I have retinal cancer and I have to have emergency surgery in Memphis. The chemotherapy didn't work and if I don't get the surgery, (then) the cancer could spread”.
Meanwhile Talmadge Toney Jr. sat waiting and reminiscing about the past: “I'm trying to figure out how to get out of here. During Katrina, my house in the Ninth Ward was 17 feet under water, (but) I'll come back - I was born and raised here”.
Meanwhile Nagin issued a strong warning to potential looters: “Looting will not be tolerated. We have doubled our police force. We have doubled the National Guard Force (that) we had for Katrina and looters will go directly to jail”. Adding scare tactics, Nagin added, “I want to make sure (that) every looter understands that you will go straight to Angola Prison and god bless you when you go there”, implying that Angola Prison isn't a very nice place.
Red Cross officials were clearly impressed. According to Jim Guidone, an American Red Cross volunteer, “The tone was incredibly serious - to get out (and) it's working”. As far as the emergency response team is concerned, “As soon as they say “Get in', we're in. People can't believe (that) it's happening again and (they) simply need a hug. But the l.esson has definitely been learned - they're leaving”. It looks like the New Orleans' government's message of imminent danger and its vow to crack down on lawlessness has New Orleans has people scurrying out of town.
