Superdome evacuation completed

Superdome swelled
Guard members reported that the massive evacuation operation for the most part had gone smoothly Friday. About 20,000 people were in the dome when efforts began, and that number swelled as people poured in to get a ride out of town, Capt. John Pollard said.

After most of those people were on their way to safety, buses started arriving at the convention center about 9:30 a.m.

Shortly after that, five buses pulled up the dome. Officials are pressing for complete evacuation of the dome so they can set up a staging area, which is near City Hall and the emergency command center.

Reuters Thousands wait to be evacuated from the  Superdome in New Orleans on Friday.

At one point Friday, the evacuation was interrupted briefly when school buses pulled up so some 700 guests and employees from the Hyatt Hotel could move to the head of the evacuation line — much to the amazement of those who had been crammed in the Superdome since last Sunday.

“How does this work? They (are) clean, they are dry, they get out ahead of us?” exclaimed Howard Blue, 22, who tried to get in their line. The National Guard blocked him as other guardsmen helped the well-dressed guests with their luggage.

The 700 had been trapped in the hotel, near the Superdome, but conditions were considerably cleaner, even without running water, than the unsanitary crush inside the dome. The Hyatt was severely damaged by the storm. Every pane of glass on the riverside wall was blown out.

Mayor Ray Nagin has used the hotel as a base since it sits across the street from city hall, and there were reports the hotel was cleared with priority to make room for police, firefighters and other officials.

Conditions in the Superdome remained unbearable even as the crowd shrank after buses ferried thousands to Houston a day earlier. Much of the medical staff that had been working in the “special needs” arena had been evacuated.

Dr. Kenneth Stephens Sr., head of the medical operations, said he was told they would be moved to help in other medical areas.

Those who wanted food were waiting in line for hours to get it, said Becky Larue, of Des Moines, Iowa.

Larue and her husband arrived in the area last week for a vacation but their hotel soon told them they had to leave and directed them to the Superdome. No directions were provided, she said.

“I’m really scared. I think people are going into a survival mode. I look for people to start injuring themselves just to get out of here,” she said.

Larue said she was down to her last blood pressure pill and had no idea of when they’ll get out or where to get help.

James LeFlere, 56, was trying to remain optimistic.

“They’re going to get us out of here. It’s just hard to hang on at this point,” he said.

Janice Singleton, a worker at the Superdome, said she got stuck in the stadium when the storm hit. She said she was robbed of everything she had with her, including her shoes.

“They tore that dome apart,” she said sadly. “They tore it down. They're taking everything out of there they can take.”

Then she said, “I don’t want to go to no Astrodome. I’ve been domed almost to death.”

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