“Shelter of last resort”
Five Days at Memorial“Shelter of last resort” was the official description of the New Orleans Superdome as a refuge for residents who had no other way to leave New Orleans during Mayor Ray Nagin’s mandatory evacuation. The phrase promised a place to go, but not a fully described system of support: people without cars could take a shuttle to the stadium, and Nagin urged people with medical conditions, including those on dialysis, to move there promptly without saying what help would be available once they arrived.
Designation and Intended Use
As the city ordered residents to evacuate, the New Orleans Superdome was designated a “shelter of last resort.” It was meant for people who could not get out on their own, in contrast to residents already trying to leave by car and caught in interstate traffic. Shuttle buses offered a route to the stadium for those without independent transportation.
Limits of the Refuge
The designation sat within an evacuation plan officials knew had significant gaps, including too few drivers to transport residents. Nagin singled out people with medical conditions as needing to move to the Superdome quickly, but the account gives no details of medical services or other assistance there. The phrase thus identified a destination for people with few alternatives without resolving the practical question of how their needs would be met.
