in article R7qRe.79145$084.55689@attbi_s22, Jay Honeck at
wrote on 8/31/05 3:25 PM:


Why the hell were they there? Everyone in America knew that New Orleans --
and everything for 100 miles on each side -- was about to be blasted by
Katrina.

Consider this story that I heard from a caller to a radio show today:

This man had been vacationing in New Orleans with his wife. Last Saturday,
they were told they needed to get out.

All flights were booked. There were no rental cars available. The buses had
stopped running. Desperate, the man scraped together the last of his
cash--about $200--and somehow managed to flag down one of the last taxi cabs
still operating. He and his wife were able to get out of town. Other
tourists were not so lucky. I just saw an AP story quoting a Canadian
tourist saying, "I'm not getting out of here alive".

If tourists couldn't get out, even with plenty of warning, what options do
you think poor people had?