NEW YORK (AP) -- With memories of the Sept. 11 attacks still vivid, hundreds of police officers and firefighters left New York City on Monday, bound for Louisiana.
The 150 police officers and support vehicles join 172 officers already sent Saturday. Some officers will be federalized, which gives them the same powers as local authorities ''to provide much needed law enforcement to keep people safe in and around New Orleans,'' Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
The Fire Department sent 300 firefighters, a day after the Federal Emergency Management Agency requested them. Authorities said the firefighters -- who lost 343 of their colleagues on 9-11 -- were eager to help.
''They understand that when New York was hit, the rest of the world responded,'' Bloomberg said. ''We were not forgotten by the rest of this country and we understand we have an obligation, and we're happy to do it.''
The new wave of rescue workers joins an urban search and rescue team of police, firefighters and city emergency personnel already sent to the South, plus three Fire Department chiefs highly trained in disaster management.
Transit workers and buses were also dispatched to help move survivors out of New Orleans.
