by Kevin Caruso
September 3, 2005
Five Days After Katrina, Survivors Still Await Evacuation
A day after mass evacuations began, thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors are still waiting their turn…waiting…waiting…waiting.
There are an estimated 5,000 people still left in the Superdome alone.
Lt. Kevin Cowan of the state Office of Emergency Preparedness said the Superdome evacuations were temporarily halted so authorities to focus on getting an estimated 25,000 out of the New Orleans Convention Center.
But that evacuation is also moving slowly.
Jennifer Washington, who was still stuck at the Convention Center on Saturday morning, and who has not been able to locate her four children, is extremely frustrated and disquieted at the delays.
"At first they said 6:30 this morning, then they said 9, but there are no buses. They promised us buses," she said.
Helicopters continue to evacuate the sickest people, while doctors continue to make near-impossible decisions about which patients to give the limited food, water, and mediation to.
