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by American Red
Cross
- Access to New Orleans is
controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are
in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans
against their orders.
- The state Homeland Security
Department had requested -- and continues to request -- that the
American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the
hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage
others to come into the city.
- The Red Cross has been meeting
the needs of thousands of New Orleans residents in some 90 shelters
throughout the state of Louisiana and elsewhere since before landfall.
All told, the Red Cross is today operating 149 shelters for almost
93,000 residents.
- The Red Cross shares the
nation’s anguish over the worsening situation inside the city. We will
continue to work under the direction of the military, state and local
authorities and to focus all our efforts on our lifesaving mission of
feeding and sheltering.
- The Red Cross does not conduct
search and rescue operations. We are an organization of civilian
volunteers and cannot get relief aid into any location until the local
authorities say it is safe and provide us with security and access.
- The original plan was to
evacuate all the residents of New Orleans to safe places outside the
city. With the hurricane bearing down, the city government decided to
open a shelter of last resort in the Superdome downtown. We applaud this
decision and believe it saved a significant number of lives.
- As the remaining people are
evacuated from New Orleans, the most appropriate role for the Red Cross
is to provide a safe place for people to stay and to see that their
emergency needs are met. We are fully staffed and equipped to handle
these individuals once they are evacuated.
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