<P> Conditions amidst the aftermath of the storm worsened, and included violent crimes, shootings, and lootings . One New Orleans police officer likened the conditions in the aftermath to Somalia, saying, "It's a war zone, and they're not treating it like one ." Officers had been giving up after working days straight with little or no support . President Bush said that saving lives should come first, but he and the local New Orleans Government also stated that they will have zero tolerance for looters . White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan affirmed that looters should not be allowed to take food, water or shoes, that they should get those things through some other way . Gov. Blanco warned that troops had orders to shoot to kill, saying, "These troops are fresh back from Iraq, well trained, experienced, battle tested and under my orders to restore order in the streets...They have M - 16s and they are locked and loaded . These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary and I expect they will ." </P> <P> The convention center conditions were described as appalling, having become surrounded by refuse, human feces and even corpses . The downtown Charity Hospital had a number of critically ill patients die as a result of delays in evacuations . The flooding of New Orleans occurred after the worst of Hurricane Katrina's fury had been spent and the storm itself moved further north . The destruction wrought by Katrina, and the flooding thereafter, severely damaged the roads and other infrastructure needed to deliver relief . </P> <P> Officers from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, the Gretna City Police Department, and the Crescent City Connection Police blocked the Crescent City Connection to block evacuees crossing the Mississippi River from New Orleans into their area . Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson told UPI, "There was no food, water or shelter in Gretna City . We did not have the wherewithal to deal with these people . If we had opened the bridge, our city would have looked like New Orleans does now - looted, burned and pillaged ." </P> <P> Later, an independent investigation of the pre-Katrina levees that protect New Orleans, alleged that the Levee Board had mismanaged funds and also, "paid more attention to marinas, gambling and business than to maintaining the levees . </P>

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