11:35 A.M. – WASHINGTON (AP): A new search-and-rescue effort is in the works for flooded areas of central New Orleans.
The commander of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division says paratroopers are planning to use inflatable Zodiac craft and other small boats in that effort.
Major General William Caldwell says the top priority will be to find and evacuate people who want to get out.
Caldwell says conditions in the city are improving. He says electricity is gradually returning.
He says he and his soldiers spend their days on the streets, and their nights sleeping on the ground at the airport. He says there are no toilet facilities and no showers, and there are only MRE’s and water to eat and drink.
But Caldwell says they can “go for weeks like this.” And he adds, “At least we’ll have homes to go back to.”