Not surprised one whit.
People are evicing surprise that residents in NOLA are reluctant to leave, even in the face of the current conditions. I'm not surprised in the slightest. These people have very very little to call their own, and even a soggy patch of ground where their house used to be is still, in their hearts, their home. Why should it be surprising that they don't want to lose the last little bit of what was theirs? The thought of being uprooted and sent somewhere completely unfamiliar is terrifying.