Rescuers empty squalid refuges in New Orleans
Superdome emptied An estimated 20,000 refugees had been waiting for rescue for nearly a week at the Superdome, with as many as 25,000 more at the New Orleans Convention Center. National Guard Lt. Col. Bernard McLaughlin said the number may have been closer to 5,000 to 7,000. In any case, living conditions there had become virtually unbearable: The stadium as well as the center were choked with sewage and garbage.
On Saturday, thousands were taken away by National Guardsmen on buses and helicopters. By nightfall, both the Superdome and convention center had been cleared out.
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