As flood waters caused by Hurricane Katrina continued to rise this morning, the governor of Louisiana ordered the complete evacuation of New Orleans. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said that 2,500 patients at Hospitals in Orleans Parish, including 300 at Charity Hospital, are being evacuated. Some hospitals, like the famed Oschner Clinic, continued to operate, receiving patients delivered by boat rather than ambulance. As the slow motion disaster played out, authorities said the public health implications are becoming more serious by the hour.
- see this story from the AP
- see this story from The Washington Post
PLUS: 23,000 refugees will be transferred from the Louisiana Superdome to the Astrodome in Houston. Hospitals in there are bracing for an influx of patients. Story