Evacuating the city: New Orleans threatened to force reluctant survivors out of their ruined and fetid city yesterday as the cost of Hurricane Katrina to the US economy climbed and a political fight raged over failed rescue plans.
Troops and police fanned out door to door, trying to persuade some 10,000 entrenched residents that the toxic flood waters of floating debris, oil and human waste encircling them could be deadly and that they needed to get out fast.
Any residents who refused could be pulled out by force in the next few days.
"We still have thousands of people who want to voluntarily evacuate at this time.
"Then we'll concentrate our efforts and resources on the mandatory evacuation," police chief P. Edwin Compass said. "We're not going to let people die."
Thousands of people were already feared dead from the storm that ravaged the Gulf Coast on August 29th and the flooding that overwhelmed New Orleans in the days after.
Out in the city's filthy waters, rescue teams tied bodies to trees or fences when they found them and noted the location for later recovery before carrying on in search of survivors.
The threat to the living became clear yesterday, when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said three people have died from bacterial infections caused by dirty water that Katrina drove ashore.
While military and Louisiana state officials said they would not use force to make people leave, Mayor Ray Nagin and the police are intent on clearing the once-vibrant historic city.
"We will use the minimal amount of force necessary," said Compass, adding that he hoped most hold-outs would co-operate.
National Guard troops went from house to house, person to person, trying to convince them to leave. Some residents were being lured out with promises of food and others gave up on plans to tough it out.
"I don't want to be dragged out at gunpoint," said Ken Shipkosky (48) as he packed his bags.
"We personally will not force anyone out of their homes," said Art Jones, a senior official in the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Senior military officers were also reluctant to commit to forced evacuations.
President Bush has said he would lead an investigation into the emergency operation, but he resisted demands for an immediate probe.
"There will be ample time for people to figure out what went right, and what went wrong. What I'm interested (in) is helping save lives," he said.
Critics say federal agencies were simply not prepared despite repeated warnings that a major hurricane could wreck New Orleans at any time.
As troops and rescue teams took days to arrive, thousands of homes were flooded and even those residents who escaped their homes were left without food and medical help, defenceless in an orgy of looting and violence.
Bush's response to the crisis was rated "bad" or "terrible" by 42 per cent of Americans surveyed for a CNN/USA Today Gallup poll released yesterday, compared with 35 per cent who said it was "good" or "great".
The federal government's performance received the same ratings, while the response of state and local officials was viewed negatively by 35 per cent and positively by 37 per cent.
Despite growing criticism from Democrat politicians, Bush's government said the investigations can wait and it was more important now to make sure evacuees were taken care of and the disaster zone cleared up. - (Reuters)