REUTERS
Hurricane Katrina survivors collect food and water during food distribution at the New Orleans Convention Center yesterday. After five days of surviving Hurricane Katrina, the heat, shootings and other unrest, thousands at the Convention Center were given food and water by the United States National Guard.NEW ORLEANS, (Reuters):
Armed troops rolled in to try and restore order to the chaos in New Orleans, bringing emergency supplies for the desperate survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
The convoy of camouflage-green trucks wound its way through flooded streets, where marauding gangs roamed and corpses rotted in the sun a full four days after the hurricane battered the city.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the troops were going with shoot-to-kill orders. "These troops are battle-tested. They have M-16s and are locked and loaded."
President George W. Bush visited the stricken area and admitted government aid efforts had been unacceptable, but promised "we're going to make it right."
Senator Mary Landrieu of Lousiana, travelling with Bush aboard Air Force One, said she told him: "Mr. President, time is of the essence. People are dying by the hour. There are not enough morgues. Please act."
months to drain city
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it may need up to 80 days to drain the flood waters from the city after Katrina struck Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Monday with 140 mile per hour winds and a huge storm surge.
"We're looking at anywhere from 36 to 80 days to being done," said the Corps' Brig. Gen. Robert Crear.
New Orleans quickly descended into desperation and anarchy after the storm surge breached its protective system of levees, and flood waters overwhelmed the city. A trickle of government aid did nothing to stop the chaos that followed.
Scenes of rampant looting and reports that armed gangs had taken over the streets of New Orleans amid a near-complete collapse of order have shocked Americans. The military convoy's arrival raised hopes that the government might finally be getting a grip on the crisis.
rescue mission
"We got food, water and medical attention. We are gonna get you people out of here," an officer announced through a bullhorn to thousands of hungry and frustrated people who have waited days at the New Orleans Convention Center for evacuation buses that never came.
Some cheered at the announcement, others shouted angrily, wondering what had taken so long.
"They are treating us like we are animals. When they had 9/11, they got them situated," said Terri Dorsey, 49. "Why don't they take care of us?"
"We are throw-away people," said Sherman Wright, 69.
A short distance away the corpse of a woman sat in a lawn chair, a towel draped over her head. She had been there since Thursday, people nearby said.
As people lined up to receive food and water from the troops, a soldier recently back from Iraq said the scene was eerily reminiscent of Baghdad.
"There were always people in the streets always asking for water and food," said Chad Blocker, 21, of the Arkansas National Guard. "It is kind of the same here except here it is your own people."
