Snark In The Big Easy
The people of The New Orleans Times-Picayune have been doing some great reporting under trying circumstances and I think they are getting really fed up with what others are saying about their city.
Today they dealt with the many reports about what was happening as people waited for help. The fact that the link ends with “2005_09_26.html#bs” and the variation on Mark Twain’s quote shows the effect of blogging: Rumors of deaths greatly exaggerated.
During the period of “rampant lawlessness” there have been four murders confirmed, which is normal for New Orleans without floods or hurricanes. The widely reported attacks are shown to be false or are still unsubstantiated. There were 6 bodies retrieved from the SuperDome and 4 at the Convention Center, all but three are considered “natural causes”. The three are listed as a drug overdose, a suicide, and one possible homicide.
People outside the city were reporting rumors of violence, but the proof isn’t there. No one can find a pilot who reported being fired upon while flying over the city.
I’ve been in a few hurricanes and the electrical arcs caused by rain blowing onto transformers are explosive sounding. When water floods a major building there is apt to be arcing from electrical equipment, which can cause fires. It can sound like gun fire or explosions.
