The city government also established several `` refuges of last resort '' for citizens who could not leave the city , including the massive Louisiana Superdome , which housed approximately 26,000 people with food and water for several days as the storm came ashore . The city government also established a `` refuge of last resort '' for citizens who could not leave the city , at the massive Louisiana Superdome , which housed approximately 26,000 people with food and water for two days as the storm came ashore .