Looting and Anarchy in New Orleans

Friday, September 02, 2005

As fear turns into desparation, less than 3 days after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the gulf coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, many people who did not, or could not, escape her fury, are now looting downtown businesses.

Fear is becoming overtaken by an instinct to survive, as survivors of the worst hurricane ever to hit the gulf coast, many of them armed, are looting businesses and turning downtown New Orleans into a state of anarchy.

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, along with New Orleans police, have now admitted that the situation has quickly escalated to a point where police can no longer effectively protect the streets of New Orleans amidst this state of lawlessness and anarchy.

It has been suggested by many of the predominantly black working class, that had New Orleans been predominantly white, that the rescue efforts would have been much more intensive.

Conditions have very quickly deteriorated at both The Louisiana Superdome, as well as the New Orleans Cumunity Center -- two of several places set up as makeshift refugee shelters for the tens of thousands of people who found themselves stranded, and unable to evacuate the city before the hurricane made landfall early Monday morning.

There have been reports of gunfire at the Superdome, as well as an unconfirmed report that a policeman had been shot at the Superdome. Reports of several women being raped, as well as several people dying as a result of the poor conditions at both overcrowded shelters, which have had no running water, and 90 degree heat.

Busses are being organized to remove refugees from the Superdome, and relocate them 12 hours away at the Huston Astrodome, where they could be forced to stay for up to 3 weeks.

Louisiana police have warned even newscrews that they are no longer safe on the streets of New Orleans, and police efforts are being spent just to secure the police station, until help from the National Guard can arrive.

At the time of this post, unconfirmed reports claim that as many as 100 armed men have taken over control of the Superdome.