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I've been reading some news reports on Katrina, and as an evacuee,   I want to clear up a couple of things.
The city made it through the storm in pretty good shape. It was afterwords with storm water still in the lake that the levees broke in two major places. One flooding the city and one flooding the 9th ward and St. Bernard parish. People have said they were getting ready to go outside and assess damage when they were literally chased into their attics by the water flooding through the levees.
The shootings, looting, robberies are not as bad as the news reported. They were happening but some news reports were ridiculous, especially CNN's. I knew two nurses at two seperate hospitals, and they struggled, but those hospital invasion reports are b.s. People really went after all stores for food and water, and others took this opportunity to steal the drugs.
The people that remained in the city are mainly the poor or stubborn. Story after story you hear people say that they couldn't afford to leave. I've seen rescues of huge people, infirmed people. I know of many people who thought they'd be ok and stayed behind only to be rescued or make their own way out of the city. The news makes it out to be a black/white thing, but the news crews are in the city. The people that mostly stayed in the city are the poor that couldn't get out. The news is not reporting the thousands of mostly white people that are trapped or rescued in St. Bernard parish. I still have not seen much footage down there. That is where I know the most people. I think everyone I know has lost their house or their parents have lost their houses in St. Bernard. It's almost 100% under water while the city is not.
As far as the monies people say Bush cut, it's a litte off base. Bush, or whoever, cut funding for future levees and storm protection. The money was not earmarked for the levees that failed, rather new levees and pumps for new suburban areas on the outskirts of the city.
Police have quit, but not in those numbers being reported. There are 200 or so that haven't been accounted for that are trapped, left, or are taking care of their own families or whatever. Or are working without anybody knowing they are out there. One of the cops that killed himself was the spokesman for the force. He lived by me and lost his house like I did. Reports were he was heading into a funk, that in retrospect, people noticed too late.

--24.22.126.45 02:37, 7 September 2005 (UTC)
Portal:Disasters and accidents/Eyewitness accounts/St Bernard Parish