Mayor threatens to evacuate hurricane ‘holdouts’ with force
As floodwaters began to slowly recede with the first of the city's pumps returning to operation, Mayor Ray Nagin instructed law enforcement officers and the US military to evacuate all hold-outs for their own safety. He warned that the fetid water could spread disease and that natural gas was leaking all over town.
By midday yesterday, however, no forced evacuations were reported. Police Captain Marlon Defillo said police were focusing for now on people who wanted to be rescued. And Art Jones of the state Homeland Security Department said the National Guard does not work for the mayor and has yet to receive orders from the military to force people out.
