How bad are the conditions in New Orleans? This bad.
“This is mass chaos,” said Sgt. Jason Defess, 27, a National Guard military policeman who had been stationed on a ramp outside the Superdome since Monday. “To tell you the truth, I’d rather be in Iraq,” where he was deployed for 14 months, until January. “You got your constant danger, but I had something to protect myself. [And] three meals a day. Communications. A plan. Here, they had no plan.” (emphasis added)
Tragically, the comparison isn’t as far-fetched as it might otherwise seem.
The evacuation of the Superdome was disrupted Thursday after at least one shot was reported fired at a military helicopter and arson fires broke out outside the arena. No injuries were immediately reported.
An air ambulance service official said helicopter transfers of the sick and injured were suspended.
Able-bodied evacuees were still being moved by bus to Houston’s astrodome, the National Guard said, correcting a Guard official who said that operation was on hold as well.
However, the scene at the Superdome became increasingly chaotic, with thousands of people rushing from nearby hotels and other buildings, hoping to climb onto the buses taking evacuees from the arena, officials said. Paramedics became increasingly alarmed by the sight of people with guns.
The helicopter operation was suspended “until they gain control of the Superdome,” said Richard Zuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, which was handling the evacuation of sick and injured people.
He said the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control. “That’s not enough,” Zuschlag. “We need a thousand.”
What a nightmare.