Hundreds of police officers and soldiers went door-to-door on the streets of New Orleans Thursday trying to convince an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 holdouts to leave the flood-ravaged city.
"Our paramount concern is saving human life. If people do not leave, the toxicity in the water will kill them," said the city's police chief Eddie Compass.
Police said they had scanned 80 per cent of the city for voluntary evacuees. After this last peaceful pass, they plan to get tough and forcibly remove any remaining residents.
Many of the remaining hold-outs have apparently lost their will to remain.
"Some are finally saying, 'I've had enough," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Michael Keegan told the Associated Press.
"They're getting dehydrated. They are running out of food. There are human remains in different houses. The smells mess with your psyche."
But not everyone is eager to leave, despite the dangers.
"I don't care what the mayor said, I'm not leaving. I'll hide in some house somewhere," said one man.
"I tell 'em to shoot me, or handcuff me."
Although pumps are now pulling water out of the city, much of it is still covered by a toxic sludge of garbage, human waste and floating corpses. E. coli and cholera-type bacteria are apparently thriving in the dirty waters.
The sludge that is already being blamed for four deaths outside of New Orleans -- three in Mississippi, and one storm victim sent to Texas.
"The longer this sits, the food that's in here will rot. Then you've got rats," said Kay Norred, a relief worker.
25,000 body bags
In addition to trying to get residents to leave the city, officials are also beginning the grim task of retrieving bodies. Louisiana is readying 25,000 body bags.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin had said earlier that the city's death toll could reach 10,000. A morgue set up outside the city is ready to receive more than 5,000 bodies.
In one grisly discovery, 30 bodies were found at a nursing home in Chalmette, just outside New Orleans. They died in the floods that followed hurricane Katrina.
Dr. James Young, advisor to minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, said it will take some time to identify the dead because dental records that help in the identification of corpses may have been destroyed in the floods.
"Now that the security's been established and people are out of the city, now it's time to do the task of trying to identify the people, but it's going to be extremely difficult," said Young told Canada AM.
"I would estimate that it's probably going to take many months to a year to two years or more to identify whoever can be identified," he said.
As much as 60 per cent of New Orleans remains under water, and only a small fraction of the city's pumps are working.
In the meantime, the United States is receiving pledges of aid from around the world.
A convoy of Canadian ships carrying supplies and 1,000 personnel steamed out of Halifax harbour on Tuesday. It had been expected to reach the region by the end of the week, but it may be delayed by another storm gathering strength off Florida.
A Canadian search-and-rescue team has already made it to the New Orleans suburb of St. Bernard Parish -- five days before the U.S. military, Louisiana state Sen. Walter Boasso said.
In related news:
- Congress passed a $51.8 billion emergency aid package. That's on top of $10.5 billion approved by Congress last week.
- U.S. President George Bush declared Sept. 16 as a national day of remembrance.
- U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney toured the hurricane-ravaged area Thursday.
- The hurricane could result in as many as 400,000 jobs being lost, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is preparing to hand out debit cards worth $2,000 to thousands of survivors to pay for essentials.
