Hurricane Background Information and Opinion

If you are interested in the practical facts of what happened in New Orleans, here is a copy of the New Orleans Evacuation Plan.

Hat tip Instapundit

Also, as this tragedy is politicized, GOP bloggers explain the impact of President George W. Bush’s calling and appealing for evacuations for the low lying areas to the State officials of Louisiana.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In the face of a catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, a mandatory evacuation was ordered Sunday for New Orleans by Mayor Ray Nagin.

Acknowledging that large numbers of people, many of them stranded tourists, would be unable to leave, the city set up 10 places of last resort for people to go, including the Superdome.

The mayor called the order unprecedented and said anyone who could leave the city should. He exempted hotels from the evacuation order because airlines had already cancelled all flights.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference, said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.

I had a friend tell me who is close to the relief effort, that by George W. Bush’s unprecedented declaration of a disaster area before the storm hit, emergency personnel were able to fly in and be ready to enter the city shortly after the storm came through.

So please, folks, I know some of you do not like our President, but do not blame this on him. I heard his Saturday address when he pleaded for every one to evacuate. He had a tone in his voice I had not heard as he begged everyone to evacuate. But this is America. He could not drag people off the street and out of their homes.