Below are some of the more memorable quotes coming from those who defied evacuation orders, as well as those warning about Katrina and its potential aftermath.
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THOSE STAYING
“You can sign my death certificate. My biggest investment is here, so I’m going to stay with it.”
--Michael Kincaid, owner of a New Orleans cigar bar, at a grocery checkout with a six-pack of beer, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies
“I’m staying right in my residence. What God has in store for us, that’s what’s going to happen. He can turn it around at the mouth of the Mississippi if he wants to.”
--New Orleans resident Derbera Smith, 53
“We’re kind of a different breed of people down here, people in the Quarter. Heck, if we can put up with Mardi Gras, we can put up with a hurricane.”
--Mary Lind, 56, who lives in a 174-year-old home
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THE WARNINGS
“We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities. I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground.”
--President Bush
“New Orleans may never be the same.”
--National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield
“I’m expecting that some people who are die-hards will die hard.”
--Aaron Broussard, the council president for Jefferson Parish, which includes major New Orleans suburbs
“We can make things very nice for 75,000 people for four hours. But we aren’t set up to really accommodate 8,000 for four days.”
--Superdome regional vice president Doug Thornton
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LONG-TERM CONCERNS
“If this thing knocks out significant quantities of (oil) refining capacity ... we’re going to be in deep, dark trouble.”
--Ed Silliere, vice president of risk management at Energy Merchant LLC in New York
“All indications are that this is absolutely worst-case scenario. We’re talking about in essence having — in the continental United States — having a refugee camp of a million people.”
--Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center
“We have a hundred response vehicles either in the Baton Rouge area or en route ... We anticipate this is going to be a long-term disaster response.”
--Kay Wilkins, head of the American Red Cross chapter in New Orleans, on plans once Katrina passes
“This is really an all-hands-on-deck scenario for the Red Cross right now.”
--American Red Cross spokeswoman Carrie Martin
