Katrina was a monster hurricane. But
evacuation procedures tend to be put in motion rather late; in this case, the
evacuation was called only 30 hours before the gale force winds kicked into the
Gulf. New Orleans was used to evacuating since storms blew people out of town
for a couple of days every few years. So its storm-jaded residents weren't particularly
in a hurry to get out. Most of them were in a wait-and-see mood, not sure how
seriously to take the forecast.
By August 26th, local weathercasters were using foreboding terms, like "potential cataclysm" – so this seasonal storm finally started being taken a little more seriously by the Big Easy, and many people began leaving... or making plans to leave.
Even though a hurricane as big as the Gulf of Mexico was bearing down on them, many people in New Orleans chose to stay in their homes, hunker down and ride it out. Stories circulated that even at gunpoint by the National Guard, some people were saying, “You’ll have to shoot me to get me out of here.”
So people put off evacuating. Then there was a last minute scramble to get out of town – by thousands of people all at the same time.
Bottom line: it's no fun to evacuate.
Next page: Checklist Before Leaving
WW
INTRO
A Call to Readiness
PART THREE
Checklist Before Leaving
PART FOUR
A Carefully Planned Route
PART FIVE
Destination: Refuge
PART SIX
Evacuation Resources
BACK TO
View from a
Canary Perch