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Officials Worry About Staying Power in Gustav Tales

Those who partied in New Orleans could influence evacuees to remain next time

By Ambreen Ali,  Newser User

Posted Sep 4, 2008 3:21 PM CDT
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(Newser) – As the thousands who rode out Hurricane Gustav in New Orleans boast about the hardy, and sometimes boozy, camaraderie to neighbors who paid in frustration for following evacuation orders, authorities are hoping those tales won’t keep residents from heeding warnings next time around, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “Some of those people will definitely say, ‘I'm not going to make that mistake again of leaving,’” one official said.

Officials managed to get 2 million people out in the nation’s largest evacuation, and while research shows that the holdouts are unlikely to be influenced, the government is funding projects to understand how oral histories influence future decisions. “They're worried we create the impression to those returning to the city that these storms are harmless,” says one resident who stayed behind.

Members of an Ohio National Guard unit prepare to leave for the Hurricane Gustav recovery in Louisiana today.
Members of an Ohio National Guard unit prepare to leave for the Hurricane Gustav recovery in Louisiana today.   (AP Photo)
People make their way back into New Orleans today.
People make their way back into New Orleans today.   (AP Photo)
Taviana Carlson, 3, shields her face against stinging wind as Hurricane Gustav moves by Lafayette, La.
Taviana Carlson, 3, shields her face against stinging wind as Hurricane Gustav moves by Lafayette, La.   (AP Photo/LM Otero)
It was like that movie 'I Am Legend,' one New Orleans resident said of standing alone atop a Mississippi levee after Hurricane Gustav passed through. It felt like I was alone in the world.
"It was like that movie 'I Am Legend,'" one New Orleans resident said of standing alone atop a Mississippi levee after Hurricane Gustav passed through. "It felt like I was alone in the world."   (Getty Images )
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Hurricane Katrina • New Orleans • culture • human behavior • Hurricane Gustav

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