Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans yesterday with 140mph winds, razing buildings and spewing millions of gallons of floodwater into its streets.
Emergency officials reported that hundreds of people had been forced on to the roofs of houses in the east of the city with emergency services unable to reach them because of the storm conditions.
One trapped resident, Chris Robinson, said over his mobile telephone: "I'm not doing too good right now. The water's rising pretty fast. Tell someone to come get me please. I want to live."
A woman was seen leaning from a third floor window with water lapping below. "We got three kids in here," she said. "Can you help us?"
The city's mayor, Ray Nagin, ordered 1.3 million residents out of the city on Sunday. But at least 100,000 were thought to have stayed behind to brave the storm.
Mr Nagin described significant flooding. "I've gotten reports that there's already water coming over some of the levee systems," he said.
Source
Emergency officials reported that hundreds of people had been forced on to the roofs of houses in the east of the city with emergency services unable to reach them because of the storm conditions.
One trapped resident, Chris Robinson, said over his mobile telephone: "I'm not doing too good right now. The water's rising pretty fast. Tell someone to come get me please. I want to live."
A woman was seen leaning from a third floor window with water lapping below. "We got three kids in here," she said. "Can you help us?"
The city's mayor, Ray Nagin, ordered 1.3 million residents out of the city on Sunday. But at least 100,000 were thought to have stayed behind to brave the storm.
Mr Nagin described significant flooding. "I've gotten reports that there's already water coming over some of the levee systems," he said.
Source