Five Days After Katrina, Refugees Waiting

Lt. Kevin Cowan of the state Office of Emergency Preparedness said the Superdome evacuations were stopped so that authorities could concentrate on getting an estimated 25,000 out of the New Orleans Convention Center.

'Their main mission now is the convention center,' Cowan said.

Jennifer Washington was among thousands of frustrated evacuees who spent another morning at the convention center waiting for buses to come.

'At first they said 6:30 this morning, then they said 9, but there are no buses. They promised us buses,' said Washington, 25, who has not been able to find her four children in the aftermath of the storm.