Effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans got the response, "Go to hell, it's every man for himself." Also, one-third of New Orleans police officers deserted the city in the days before the storm, many of them escaping in their department-owned patrol cars. This added to the chaos by stretching law enforcement thin. Additionally, several NOPD officers were arrested weeks after Katrina for suspicion of vehicle theft. The City of Gretna on the West Bank of the Mississippi River received considerable press coverage when, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (late August 2005), displaced and dehydrated survivors who attempted to escape from New Orleans by walking over
Hurricane preparedness for New Orleans floodgate structures and raising existing levees. The report also suggested that the chances of a major Category 5 hurricane directly striking New Orleans was a one-in-500-year event. In 2001, the "Houston Chronicle" published a story which predicted that a severe hurricane striking New Orleans, "would strand 250,000 people or more, and probably kill one of 10 left behind as the city drowned under of water. Thousands of refugees could end up in Houston." In 2002, "The Times Picayune" published a feature covering various scenarios, including a Category 5 hurricane hitting the city from the south. The series also explored the