Tense Crowds Fill Buses From Superdome to Texas

[midnight armadillo]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Katrina-Superdome-Evacuation-HK1.html?hp&ex=1125633600&en=57c0399804d73919&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Tense Crowds Fill Buses From Superdome to Texas
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 7:14 p.m. ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- At the front of the line, the weary refugees waded through ankle-deep water, grabbed a bottle of water from state troopers and happily hopped on buses that would deliver them from the horrendous conditions of the Superdome.

At the back end of the line, people jammed against police barricades in the rain. Refugees passed out and had to be lifted hand-over-hand overhead to medics. Pets were not allowed on the bus, and when a police officer confiscated a little boy's dog, the child cried until he vomited. ''Snowball, snowball,'' he cried.

The scene played out Thursday as the plodding procession out of the Superdome entered its second day -- an evacuation that became more complicated as thousands more storm victims showed up at the arena.

Capt. John Pollard of the Texas Air Force National Guard said 20,000 people were in the dome when the evacuation efforts began. By Thursday afternoon, the number had swelled to about 30,000. Pollard said people poured into the Superdome because they believe it's the best place to get a ride out of town.

[WolverineDG]

oh for christ's sake

let the kid take his dog, dammit. they've been through enough hell already!!!!

dg

[TomInTib]

1. How can they not take the critters - are they afraid that they'll pee

on the bus? The folks coming from the Superdome probably wouldn't even notice after what they've been through.