[JURIST] New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued a new emergency order Tuesday evening authorizing public safety officers in the city – including police, firemen, and members of the US military – to force the removal of anyone not engaged in the Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] recovery effort. This latest evacuation order supercedes the mandatory evacuation order Nagin issued just before the arrival of the storm [JURIST report] and is directed at the estimated 10,000 holdouts still believed to be within the New Orleans city limits. It reads in part:

Whereas, Hurricane Katrina has caused catastrophic damage to the City of New Orleans, including, without limitation, several breaches in the levee system, loss of power and water service and the collapse and or loss of structural integrity of roadways, building and other structures;

Whereas, the above referenced damage necessitates an immediate and unimpeded recovery effort by the City, the State of Louisiana and the United States Government;

Effective immediately, any public safety officer within the boundaries of the Parish of Orleans, including, without limitation, members of the New Orleans, including, without limitation, members of the New Orleans Police Department, the New Orleans Fire Department, the National Guard and any branch of the U.S. Military, is hereby instructed and authorized to compel the evacuation of all persons from the City of New Orleans, regardless of whether such persons are on private property or do not desire to leave, unless such persons are determined by such public safety officers to be specifically engaged by the City, the State or the U. S. Government in providing assistance in the remediation and recovery effort.