Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.

Flood Survivors Share Similar Story: Glad to be Alive
-----------------------------------------------------

(http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=EDFFF5:3919ACA

New Orleans residents in emergency shelters are anxious to get out of
the city, some permanently





Evacuee staging area on a highway outside New OrleansThousands of
people are still being evacuated from the flooded downtown area of New
Orleans.  Many are brought to staging areas that look like refugee
camps in dryer parts of the city.  There they wait until they can be
bused to shelters.  VOA’s Brian Padden visited one staging area in the
city.

The hundreds of people in this emergency camp just outside the flood
zone in New Orleans are now safe.  







Ron Humble had been trapped for days in his houseRon Humble was
rescued by a helicopter from his apartment building. ”And we were on
the second and third floor, and once the water kept rising, we tried
to get out.”

While they survived, they are exhausted and frustrated. 

Will Mitchell escaped with his family of seven. “It was rough,
actually.  It was very crowded and unorganized,” said Mr. Mitchell. “I
would think for a city to have hurricanes as frequently as it does,
there would be a contingency plan in place or at least some organized
set of rules that should be followed.







Naomi Hoffman is anxious to be anywhere but in New OrleansBartender
Gary Geogaggan says he has had enough of New Orleans. “My game plan is
to eventually get out of here and go somewhere safer.  And I really
don’t care for this town,” he added.

Naomi Hoffman is also looking forward to getting out of the city. “I
don’t know where they are going to bring us to but wherever it is, it
will be better than where we came from. It was real bad, not for
humans.”

The Louisiana State Police officer in charge here, Lt. Allen Carpenter
says they are moving people out as soon as possible. “I couldn’t give
you a number.  More keep coming in.  Were going to keep bringing buses
in until everybody is gone.”







Lieutenant Allen Carpenter talks with one of the evacuees at
the highway staging point“Sir, you must have someone in Baton Rouge to
pick you up,” says volunteer Christopher Smith. His bus can only take
people who have relatives in the nearby city of Baton Rouge.

“There are not enough shelters to evacuate the number of people that
we have to evacuate,” he says.

Today most here are happy just be alive.  Where they will go and what
they will do are questions for tomorrow.