From a news story from Thursday, September 23, 2004
http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl092304thanh.1295648.html


"It appears a facility as large as the Dome could hold up in hurricane conditions but Bill Curl, spokesman for the Superdome, says that is yet to be tested and if there is no other choice then maybe the Dome could serve as a shelter.
“Only in dire emergencies. The Superdome is not a shelter,” said Curl.
According to Curl, the assumption that the Superdome can withstand hurricane force winds is just that: an assumption. He says more analysis is needed to determine what the Dome can actually withstand because previous wind studies have become somewhat irrelevant since they did not factor in the new high-rise buildings around the Dome."
and

"Mayor Nagin said the city has more than 80,000 people without transportation access, and when the next hurricane evacuation there will be thousands of people who will not, or cannot, leave, highlighting the city’s urgency of finding the most suitable place for shelter."