NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 28, 2008
Katrina Victims Are Buried, 3 Years After
Nearly 80 Bodies Entombed In Memorial To Be Dedicated On Anniversary Of 2005 Storm
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Work continues on the Hurricane Katrina memorial in New Orleans, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. Workers are rushing to complete the memorial by the third anniversary of the hurricane, which is Friday. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
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Interactive After The Storm The road to recovery for the people and places along the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.
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Photo Essay New Orleans Photos A gallery of images that illustrate the far-reaching impact of Hurricane Katrina on a major American city
Randall Cephus of the Army Corps of Engineers said the government's target to complete the levee construction is 2011. "We're not there yet, and so there is risk. And even after the system is complete, there will still be risk."
Hoping to avoid what happened after Katrina, preliminary planning to evacuate the city is already underway. Shelters are being set up, levees are being bolstered, and sandbags line storefronts.
"We have different plans and we have practiced those plans over the years and we are ready to go,' said Mayor Ray Nagin. "I just didn't expect us to have to execute this soon."
Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency and activated 3,000 National Guard troops on Wednesday as Tropical Storm Gustav moved toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Jindal said the Guard troops would report Thursday to prepare for the storm, which has the potential to hit Louisiana on Monday as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. Another 1,500 state troopers were on alert, and preliminary plans could call up another 2,000 Guardsmen if Gustav's course continued in Louisiana's direction. He said he also activated contracts with 700 transportation companies that will provide buses if the state needs to evacuate as many as 35,000 people along the coast.
"Our state is better prepared than it has been before to respond to a major disaster," he said.
He said he has also asked for a federal emergency declaration in case the storm makes landfall.
Jindal urged people to make plans for themselves rather than relying on government transport or other help.
"Don't wait for this storm to come to the Gulf on Friday," he said. "Don't wait until an evacuation or an order may be given. Now is the time to be prepared."
He said they should stock up on water, food and batteries, and finalize evacuation plans, particularly for children, the elderly and pets.
"I want to emphasize to our people that they also have personal responsibility," Jindal said at a news conference at the state emergency center.
The state's hurricane evacuation-themed Web site - getagameplan.org - has information about evacuation plans and routes, and advice for buying supplies.
For a guide to memorials and services in New Orleans commemorating the anniversary of Katrina, as well as screenings of the documentary "The Katrina Myth: the Truth About a Thoroughly Unnatural Disaster," visit the Web site of CBS affiliate WWL.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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- http://newsbusters.org/node/2072
For the story. - Reply to this comment
- Yeah, Obama got at least one thing right in his speech...on Bush''''s watch, "we saw a city drown before our eyes. (Heavy sigh) Let''s be practical here folks, it really wasn''t Bush''s fault The real culprit was the inept government of Nagin, and his failure to have a plan to evac the week and elderly in a city that lies below sea level. Also,the failure of governor Blanco to order a mandatory evac. Experts warned it would take 48 hours to evac and she and mayor Nagin waited till 20 hours before the hurricane hit to make a move. She then waited 48 hours after to ask for federal guard to help with evac and security. After that the ball was in Bush''s court. I''m sorry it happened but common sense has to prevail, and the real truth has to be spoken.
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- The thing that stands up in my mind was a senior begging for help right on TV. She needed medical care as she had disbetes and needs shots to control her disbetes..She did not live long..I WAS AND AM APPALLED. That isn''t all America was not there for them but she is if a nation out of America needs it. Right there.That old lady was thinking of others and she died. I was appalled. Greatest nation and to selfish to help herown. May the oouls now rest.
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- 3 years later they bury the dead from that awful hurricain.. 3 years later.. I thot they were bury asap.THIS IS APPALLING. I am aware there was awful damages. After clean up the dead should have been put to rest. No if and or but.
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- A report on the Katrina dead in LA was issued today, on the third aniiversary of the storm. It said that almost half the victims were over 75, and that the average age was 69. Hardly anyone under 18 died...very few little kids, either. So much for that myth.
They were too frail to leave, or had no transportation, or feared looters, or just thought it was all a lot of hooey and that NOLA was safe. I can''t believe that ALL these people had NO next of kin looking out for their welfare. The big one hits, and you don''t even think about taking care of Grandma and Gramps? The mind boggles...most of them drowned in their OWN HOMES. The grandkids and the kids dropped the ball...and it sank.
Grizzster
Grizzster - Reply to this comment
- Yeah, Obama got at least one thing right in his speech...on Bush''s watch, "we saw a city drown before our eyes." I saw some old New Orleans footage last night and it still blows me away. I spent days sitting in front of my TV watching in stunned disbelief. In some ways, it was more horrible than 9/11, especially in light of the fact that most people who drowned were fairly old...in their 60''s and 70''s.
How do you become so estranged from a relative that you ignore their passing? My wife''s cousin''s husband died suddenly, and his own parents refused to attend their son''s funeral. How and why anyone can be THAT p.o.ed at their kinfolk, is something only God can explain. And he ain''t sayin''.
Grizzster - Reply to this comment
- These ppl must have really stank !
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- So What - Bush, Cheney and Rove finally take these people off their Mantles?
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- guess I''ll try to word it differently ... I think the fact that it was built over another grave site is "interesting." And the price of this endeavor when there is real suffering is appalling! Why are WE not doing more about this situation in our own country?
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- wow guess they didn''t like my other comment ... don''t see it here ... and I thought I made a an interesting point ...
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- GOOD point Grammto8.
And another thing loyalto1, it isn''t ALL about the monetary value. But really, most homes that actually made it thru the storm were structurally a mess, a cesspool of filth and mold, zero utility resources, bereft of personal belonging, if not looted or stolen or damaged. Hmm let''s see, no employment, an unreliable food source. Have I mentioned SAFTEY issues and MEDICAL issues ... no money.
How old are you? lol - Reply to this comment
- So..basically they buried a bunch of skeletons.... or creamated skeletons....
Posted by MANDALAY-BAY at 07:44 PM : Aug 28, 2008
... ON TOP of a bunch of OLD skeletons ... and it cost $1.5 million ..
..and it''s a cesspool of inhumanity there in that city. WHY ISN''T THAT IN THE NEWS CB''S? - Reply to this comment
- erio2644-perhaps you don''t know how the system has always been set up to work. That is until the left and the msm shills used katrina for political gain. See, the first line of defense in disaster planning and response is LOCAL. That means if anyone dropped the ball it was NAGIN and his cronies. Next is the state and if you remember gov blanco had to be BEGGED by Bush to call out the Natioal Guard. As for FEMA, sweetie, they were never meant to be present DURING a disater, Think about it, where are they supposed to set up during a Cat 3 hurricane. Have a rational thought. FEMA is supposed to come in AFTER the disaster to assess damage. NOT before. But, since the government in NO is so inept maybe they should be taken under federal rule. How''s that.
Also, the citizens themselves are also repsonsible to be prepared and now they have 6 days warning. At least in Floida we were expected to be prepared and have a disaster plan of our own. Then again, we didn''t count on the government to fulfill all our needs. Good job, dems. - Reply to this comment
- The entire katrina thing has been insane. Their houses were flooded ( Big Deal ) it happends everday all over the world including in america! What I thought was interesting, when ask why they didn''''t leave before the storm - most said they didn''''t have CARS yet later after the storm they said they lost everything ( well if they didn''''t have a car losing everything must not have been much. What alot of average Americans don''''t realize is when you are poor your entire hose full of furniture is worth approximatly $1000 dollars P.S.
Posted by Loyalto1 at 07:36 PM : Aug 28, 2008
What you do not seem to realize is that it IS EVERYTHING they had!!! - Reply to this comment
- They dug up a paupers cemetary to bury the Katrina victims? That is desecration and disrespect to the poor dead already buried there that were dug out. Were the paupers who were already buried there and dug up any less important?
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- What a shame 80 ''unclaimed'' people were buried. Someone knows some of these 80 people, but couldn''t find them. May they rest in peace. Their city and mayor deserted them.
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- So..basically they buried a bunch of skeletons.... or creamated skeletons....
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- DemWatcher has the right idea. Anything below water level needs to be abandoned. It''d be cheaper to just buy out all that space than keep up this ludicrous cycle of repairs.
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- The entire katrina thing has been insane. Their houses were flooded ( Big Deal ) it happends everday all over the world including in america! What I thought was interesting, when ask why they didn''t leave before the storm - most said they didn''t have CARS yet later after the storm they said they lost everything ( well if they didn''t have a car losing everything must not have been much. What alot of average Americans don''t realize is when you are poor your entire hose full of furniture is worth approximatly $1000 dollars P.S.
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- "Katrina Victims Are Buried, 3 Years After"
Since when did they start "burying" people in New Orleans?? On our pre-Katrina tour, someone asked "what are all those stone boxes in the cemetery?" the bus tour host told us that they don''t bury people in New Orleans because when it floods, the bodies get washed out & end up in random parts of the city, so they put them stone caskets on top of the ground.
Has that changed? - Reply to this comment
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