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New Orleans is closing

Posted: Sunday, August 31, 2008 3:31 PM
Filed Under:


By Jim Seida, msnbc.com senior multimedia producer

New Orleans residents gather at the main Amtrak station to get bused out of town before Hurricane Gustave hits. Jim Seida / msnbc.com

New Orleans is closing. The party, at least for now, is over.  As Hurricane Gustav approaches, people are heeding the government's warnings and heading out of town, leaving the streets mostly empty but for police cruisers and National Guard trucks, patrolling for stragglers.

Coming into the city from Mobile, Ala., was an eye-opening experience.  Even as far as Mobile, 120 miles west of New Orleans, the effects of the storm were already being felt. The local Wal-Mart there was out of gas cans and AA batteries. There were almost no flashlights left and the aisles with boxed juices, cookies, and other foods that are easy to eat while sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the interstate were well picked over.

When you're running from (or toward) a hurricane, everybody needs the same things...water, gas, food.

Heading west toward New Orleans felt wrong. The eastbound lanes of I-10 were packed with cars full of families, pickup trucks with furniture and appliances and large, rented moving trucks. It looked like a dense cluster of white Christmas lights, and endless stream of bright white lights. It’s’ an exodus, a migration. There were hardly any vehicles at all in the westbound lanes, just an occasional set of red taillights moving through the darkness.

Three years ago, when Hurricane Katrina was coming, it wasn't the same.  Thousands of people stayed behind to ride out the storm.  There wasn't the structure or organization needed to get everyone out in time. This time though, the city has an evacuation plan. They have collection points where people are gathering to be bused out of town.  So far, the evacuation seems to be going smoothly.

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Comments

There are lanes leaving New Orleans not being utilized for evacuation.  When the Nazi's were coming every road and field was used and ALL lanes!  What is wrong with these Americans?

EDWARD ASH, MAGALIA, CALIFORNIA (Sent Sunday, August 31, 2008 2:44 PM)

One thing that should be kept in mind: Gustav took a traditional weeklong path to coastal Louisiana.  There has been ample time to prepare; whereas, Katrina exploded upon us in only three days and was a monstrous, huge hurricane.  If locals hadn't practiced leaving the region several times before, sometimes on what were false alerts, the death toll from Katrina would've been worse than the shocking 1,000+ total.

True, it seems that government learned the horrible lessons from being unprepared for Katrina.  Plans have been made, contracts signed in advance, and compassion has led to pets being allowed to come along with their owners.

People have learned their lessons down here. Those who don't leave, like me, are ready for the long haul of sustaining ourselves.  It's not time for having hurricane parties any longer; it's for keeps because I love my life here in New Orleans.

Chris DeBarr, New Orleans, Louisiana (Sent Sunday, August 31, 2008 8:05 PM)

Good luck to you and God bless anyone left in the city.  Thats all any of us can say.  

Dan (Sent Sunday, August 31, 2008 9:23 PM)

I used t live in Harvey and Belle Chasse, hope everyone stays safe down there. Take care of one another.

Todd Woodruff Lafayette, In (Sent Sunday, August 31, 2008 9:58 PM)

I am curious what the population of N.O. was prior to Katrina as compared with today. I now wonder what it will be post Gustav.

New Orleans only serves two purposes really. One, as the mouth of the Mississippi it is an essential commerce terminal and crucial for national infrastructure as it pertains to the Gulf of Mexico.

Secondly as a tourist destination. All Americans should recognize and appreciate New Orleans diverse cultural and historic significance and the wonderful role it has played in our nations history.

I think that after Gustav finishes wreaking it's havoc, The population of New Orleans will shrink even more, leaving no one in the city but those directly involved in the above industries, and those who support them.

I have only one suggestion for those not in the above categories:

leave.... and do not return.

Bob, Dallas, TX (Sent Monday, September 01, 2008 12:39 PM)

Anyone who builds a house below sea level where God intended for the fish to live needs to grow gills. Rebuid New Orleans?  Absolutely!  On high ground somewhere in Mississippi. Give that "land" New Orleans is sitting on back to the fish.  And don't expect government assistance to bail out "stupidity".  Tax payers really object to this kind of welfare.

Norman Shoemaker, Bahia de Kino, Sonora (Sent Monday, September 01, 2008 1:37 PM)

our prays are with you all from Toledo, Ohio

Michele Tomczak Toledo, Ohio (Sent Monday, September 01, 2008 11:17 PM)



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