Anyone Else Get The Feeling That The Public Officials

[BlowinNTheWind]

are being purposely cagey about the casualty totals in Mississippi?..It seems like everytime they are asked they purposely change the subject or say we don't have any numbers..I am increasingly skeptical because this is usually one of the first things they try to find out after a storm...Why are they trying to keep the figure from getting out?...not sure what is going or why they seem to be doing this...Is the number so high that they are trying not to cause a panic??....

[thunderchief]

Every house that is flooded up to its roof might contain bodies, and there is no way to check them since they are still underwater.

They may not have a full death toll for weeks... or longer.

[thunderchief]

note that you are hearing death toll reports from MS, where the surge has receded.

[soonertwister]

Honestly, I don't care right now about who died, but who lived because of our efforts.

Later I will feel the pain of the loss of those who did not survive, but media is intensely ghoulish, and relish stories of lots of bodies, in order to sell their product.

To #### with them. We don't owe them an answer of any kind at this time.

[blueeyes_austin]

I think the only proper answer to the question is the one Guliani gave immediately following 9/11: "The number of casualties will be more than any of us can bear."

[birdwomn]

I suspect that officials don't want people who are outside the disaster area to assume that family members and loved ones are dead, based on the numbers. So they want to get an accurate assessment rather than "guesstimating". That is prudent, if frustating for those of us who want to get a feel for how bad it really has been in terms of loss of life.

Personally, I think it will be less than I feared, but more than we can bear as a country when it is all said and done.