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Originally Posted by vautrain
Actually, your scenario is rather unworkable, given the resources needed and the time available. In order to evacuate 100,000 people by bus, the mayor would have needed:
1700 buses
1700 bus drivers
1700 police
70,000 gallons of diesel
The time needed is open to debate, but I think he would have needed three days at a minimum, probably four days.
The fact is, he had fewer than 48 hours. There were about 36-40 hours remaining, when everyone began to realize New Orleans would likely be hit by a Cat 4 or stronger storm. I think the mayor could have evacuated up to 20,000 in that time frame, but it would have been at the expense of the other people trying to evacuate on their own, and it would have been at the expense of the remaining 80,000 to 90,000 who could or would not evacuate on their own.
Given the time frame, no one could have evacuated 100,000 people.
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The
fact is every person that would have made it out of there would have been an improvement over the way things actually transpired. It is also
fact that the man NEVER EVEN MADE AN ETTEMPT to get anybody out who wasn't able to get out on their own. And, to add insult to injury, THERE WASN'T EVEN ANY CONTINGENCY PLAN to do so either!
I take issue with the amount of time the man had, and the amount of resource he had available but like you say it is, and will be open for debate for a long time to come.
I had no real scenario to speak of. I was merely pointing out that he could have done something, and gotten thousands out had he wanted to do so. I realize that not everyone would have left even if they had been afforded the opportunity. But You and I, as well as everybody else knows that there could have been lives saved, countless lives that DID NOT have to end because of his failure to act. The man DIDN'T HAVE THE BALLS or INTELLIGENCE to do any more than he did...and that amounted to nothing. Yet, once the shit hit the fan, what does Mayor Ray Nagin do? He blows up, and then points the finger at others for THEIR slow response. Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?
Put away your calculator for a minute and just look over the 3-4 days prior to the hurricane hitting land, and then 5-6 days afterwards.... What was the Mayor doing? Saving his own ass.
