Massive airlift rescues thousands: “Survivors of Hurricane Katrina are taken to safety in what is being called the largest airlift on US soil.”
Many survivors have witnessed scenes of violence, including rapes and murders at the shelters, mainly carried out by criminal gangs.
“There is rapes going on here,” Africa Brumfield, 32, who was staying at the convention centre, told Reuters news agency.
“Women cannot go to the bathroom without men. They are raping them and slitting their throats,” she said.
A National Guard soldier described a similar incident. “We found a young girl raped and killed in the bathroom [at the arena],” he said.
“Then the crowd got the man and they beat him to death.”