Home>News Center>World
         
 

Water receding noticeably in New Orleans
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-07 07:09

The Pentagon, meanwhile, began sending paratroopers from the Army's storied 82nd Airborne Division to New Orleans to use small boats, including inflatable Zodiac craft, to launch a new search-and-rescue effort in flooded sections of the city. Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, division commander, said about 5,000 paratroopers would be in place by Tuesday.

Boat rescue crews and a caravan of law enforcement vehicles from around the country also searched for people to rescue.

"In some cases, it's real easy. They're sitting on the porch with their bags packed," said Joe Youdell of the Kentucky Air National Guard. "But some don't want to leave and we can't force them."

Nagin warned: "We have to convince them to leave. It's not safe here. There is toxic waste in the water and dead bodies and mosquitoes and gas. We are pumping about a million dollars' worth a gas a day in the air. Fires have been started and we don't have running water."

Nagin said some dry sections of the city may have running water within 36 hours. The system needs to be flushed out before that can happen, he said.

Early Tuesday, fire broke out at a big house in the city's historic Garden District — a neighborhood with lots of antebellum mansions. National Guardsmen cordoned off the area as firefighters battled the blaze by helicopter. In all, firefighters battled at least four major fires in New Orleans by midafternoon.

At the same time, the effort to get the evacuees back on their feet continued on several fronts.

Patrick Rhode, deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said evacuees would receive debit cards so that they could begin buying necessary personal items. He said the agency was going from shelter to shelter to make sure that evacuees received cards quickly and that the paperwork usually required would be reduced or eliminated.

"We're eliminating as much red tape as humanly possible," Rhode said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

The Air Force late Monday concluded its huge airlift of elderly and serious ill patients from New Orleans' major airport. A total of 9,788 patients and other evacuees were evacuated by air from the New Orleans area.
Page: 123



Rescue continues in New Orleans
Egyptian presidential election campaigns conclude
Bush orders more troops to secure New Orleans
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Airbus, banking deals cement China-EU ties

 

   
 

Official: Shenzhou VI to be launched soon

 

   
 

StanChart takes 19.9% stake in Bohai Bank

 

   
 

New Orleans after Katrina: Back to Stone Age

 

   
 

Iraqi Leader: Saddam confessed to crimes

 

   
 

Legislation key to epidemic control

 

   
  Iraqi Leader: Saddam confessed to crimes
   
  Water receding noticeably in New Orleans
   
  Blair visits India to promote EU and UK trade ties
   
  Boy survives plane crash in Indonesia
   
  Impeachment charges against Arroyo dropped
   
  Singapore picks Boeing F-15 over Rafale of France
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Europe readies Katrina aid to send to US
   
Katrina children seeking parents shown on Web
   
Katrina death toll may be 10,000: mayor
   
Katrina could prompt new black "migration"
   
China's CNOOC pledges Katrina aid
   
Katrina leaves many of the poor in free fall
   
Refugees from Katrina scraping for work
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement