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<day > wrote in message
...
> What should have happened :
>
> If they didn't want to get on a bus, their only other choice is to
> possibly die. You can't save someone that refuses to get to safety.
>
> Authority to issue evacuations of elements of the population is vested
> in the Mayor. By Executive Order, the chief elected official, the
> Mayor of the City of New Orleans, has the authority to order the
> evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.
> Conduct of an actual evacuation will be the responsibility of the
> Mayor of New Orleans in coordination with the Director of the Office
> of Emergency Preparedness, and the OEP Shelter Coordinator.
>
> Use of buses is covered in the city plan and the state plan.
>
> I counted in the picture that is being passed around approx 135 school
> buses alone that could be seen. If each was used to hold 30 people
> that would have been 4,050 per trip that could have been moved . It is
> estimated that NORTA(city buses) has 364 buses. If 60 crowed in during
> the evac, 21,840 per trip could be moved. Together 25,890 people could
> have evaced. Mayor Nagin said 80% of the city left when ordered. The
> population census for 2000 says 484,674 people lived there, 387,740
> evaced on there own. The buses could have taken the remaining 96,934
> out in about 4 trips. Taking the people maybe 100 miles inland and
> empty the city in around 12 hours.

Taking them inland to what? Was there a place to shelter and house all
these people? You're not going to drop them off in the middle of the path
of a hurricane without protection. At least the Superdome gave shelter
during the storm.