NOLA Task Force Revelations

I arrived in New Orleans last night at 7:55pm CT. I was on Southwest flight 333 and was one of the 120 passengers on the last flight into New Orleans. Having worked on Task Force months after Hurricane Katrina, I thought I knew what I was getting into. However, after being the only airplane on the tarmac upon my arrival last night, I was introduced into a huge wake-up call.

Upon arrival to the New Orleans Marriott at the Convention Center, I got to see the staging area for the US Army National Guard. After a whole day here, I have realized that the proportion of Army troops to civilians is unproportionate in favor of the National Guard.

The French Quarter is not the same. After walking around for several hours I found that the only patrons of the numerous bars and clubs were either locals that arrived soon after the curfew ended, and numerous people here to repair power lines and assist with the recovery efforts of the rural areas in Louisiana on the Gulf Coast.

Only having been here for 24 hours I cannot give you a complete picture of the city, although, from what I have seen, most of the residents of the New Orleans parish are waiting for Ike to pass before they return. FEMA has not lived up to its promises and the community members seem to be upset. As an outsider, I cannot comment on their response, however, I fee the evacuation of New Orleans was justified and the costs encurred by those evacuated cannot equate to the lives lost of Gustav had been a direct hit.

Hopefully, if Ike is headed this way, people will heed the warning and very few lives will be lost.

Reporting from the Warehouse District in downtown New Orleans, I'm Peter McDermott...