NEW ORLEANS - Thousands of desperate, stranded residents begged for help Thursday as conditions deteriorated here, with heavy rain compounding a tense situation that led to fights, fires and fears for the safety of emergency responders.

Officials said thousands more National Guardsmen were being sent to the city, and Congress planned a special session Thursday night to approve emergency aid. But across the city, residents complained that aid was not arriving.

“We are out here like pure animals. We don’t have help,” the Rev. Isaac Clark, 68, said outside the New Orleans Convention Center, complaining that he and hundreds of others were evacuated, taken to the convention hall by bus, dropped off and given nothing.

Conditions inside and around the Superdome, such as this view Thursday morning, were said to be chaotic, with medics pleading for help to curb people with guns in the area.

First they have to pump the flooded city dry, and that will take a minimum of 30 days. Then they will have to flush the drinking water system, making sure they don't recycle the contaminants. Figure another month for that. The electricians will have to watch out for snakes in the water, wild animals and feral dogs. It will be a good idea to wear hip boots and take care of cuts and scrapes before the toxic slush turns them into festering sores. The power grid might be up in a few weeks, but many months will elapse before everybody's lights come back on.