Death toll in Louisiana could be above 10,000

[Zadok]

Death toll in Louisiana could be above 10,000: US Senator
44 minutes ago
BATON ROUGE, United States (AFP) - US Senator David Vitter said that the death toll from Hurricane Katrina could top 10,000 in Louisiana alone.


"My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess," Vitter said, adding that he was not basing his remarks on any official death toll or body count.

Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, also called for the immediate deployment of regular US combat troops in New Orleans, saying the build-up of National Guard troops was too slow to quickly restore order.

Such a step would require Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to formally request the dispatch of federal army soldiers, a highly unusual step.

Blanco said on Thursday that she had asked for 40,000 troops, the majority of which are National Guard units from Louisiana and elsewhere.

Five-thousand National Guard troops are expected to be on the ground in violence-wracked New Orleans by late Friday, military leaders said.

But Vitter said that timeline could be too slow, amid reports that bands of armed men are roaming the streets in the city, which is 80 percent submerged in floods brought in by a storm tide after the hurricane hit on Monday.

Vitter, speaking to reporters at the emergency response center in Baton Rouge, also said he gave the federal government a grade 'F' for its response to the disaster so far.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050902/pl ... therdeaths

[SouthFloridawx]

Death toll in Louisiana could be above 10,000: US Senator
44 minutes ago
BATON ROUGE, United States (AFP) - US Senator David Vitter said that the death toll from Hurricane Katrina could top 10,000 in Louisiana alone.


"My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess," Vitter said, adding that he was not basing his remarks on any official death toll or body count.

Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, also called for the immediate deployment of regular US combat troops in New Orleans, saying the build-up of National Guard troops was too slow to quickly restore order.

Such a step would require Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to formally request the dispatch of federal army soldiers, a highly unusual step.

Blanco said on Thursday that she had asked for 40,000 troops, the majority of which are National Guard units from Louisiana and elsewhere.

Five-thousand National Guard troops are expected to be on the ground in violence-wracked New Orleans by late Friday, military leaders said.

But Vitter said that timeline could be too slow, amid reports that bands of armed men are roaming the streets in the city, which is 80 percent submerged in floods brought in by a storm tide after the hurricane hit on Monday.

Vitter, speaking to reporters at the emergency response center in Baton Rouge, also said he gave the federal government a grade 'F' for its response to the disaster so far.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050902/pl ... therdeaths

worse than 9/11 and worse than any natural disaster ever... oh my

[stu]

Way too much gossip and the media is lapping it up!

Right now only facts should be reported

"My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess," Vitter said, adding that he was not basing his remarks on any official death toll or body count.

[jpigott]

well with the earlier BBC report of appox. 1000 deaths just in Biloxi, i think 10,000 in NO may not be far off the mark sadly. And then we have to deal with all the smaller coastal MS communities, many which have been wiped out from the gulf to 1/4-1/2 mile inland. And then there's where Katrina made her 1st gulf imapact, extreme SE LA where many pundits have stated the gulf/mississippi river has reclaimed the land down there. I think this will end up being the costliest and deadliest disaster natural or otherwise (discounting wars) the US has every faced.

[OklahomaWeather]

So incredibly sad, but 10,000 honestly wouldn't surprise me.

[HurriCat]

"My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess," Vitter said, adding that he was not basing his remarks on any official death toll or body count.

HIS exact words.

Headline could then read "SPECUALTION & WILD-A** GUESSING that Death Toll Could be blahblahblah - I don't know, say a JILLION"

[jpigott]

"My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess," Vitter said, adding that he was not basing his remarks on any official death toll or body count.

HIS exact words.

Headline could then read "SPECUALTION & WILD-A** GUESSING that Death Toll Could be blahblahblah - I don't know, say a JILLION"

This guy is a Louisiana senator, i'd imagine he has heard some things from credible sources, obviously nothing official b/c there are other things to be doing right now besides body counting (although they better start that soon b/c a bunch of rotting bloated corpses sitting in stagnant water in 90+ degree heat is a recipe for MAJOR disease issues). This probably is a guess, unfortunately however it sounds reasonable, not wilda*& speculation. Hurricat - welcome to the disturbing reality that is NO and Miss

[AlabamaDave]

I think 20,000 is very possible in New Orleans, even likely. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported this morning that 100 RESCUED people in Chalmette had died awaiting transport out of the area. RESCUED people. Even the survivors cannot make it in the terrible heat without food and water.

It's not at all inconceivable that a substantial portion of the population in the 9th Ward of New Orleans failed to evacuate and drowned after the initial levee burst.

I imagine we are looking at another 2,000+ in Mississippi, and another 1,000+ in Plaquemines Parish below New Orleans, depending on how many stayed behind.

I honestly believe that at least 25,000 have been killed by Katrina, which is an unimaginable horror.

[BroncoChuck]

2000 max..... at the most for all 3 states. And thats a high est....

Everyone always over speculates the death toll. Hell with Ivan came though they kept saying 1000+ and we wound up with what? 30-50 ? i cant remember off the top of my head but that was for the WHOLE storm including inland flooding....

Gotta wait and see at this point...

[mascpa]

Guess I'm jusr getting cynical in my old age but I think he was just looking to get some media time. I don't think anyone has a clue at this stage. How could they possibly?

[jpigott]

2000 max..... at the most for all 3 states. And thats a high est....

Everyone always over speculates the death toll. Hell with Ivan came though they kept saying 1000+ and we wound up with what? 30-50 ? i cant remember off the top of my head but that was for the WHOLE storm including inland flooding....

Gotta wait and see at this point...

i hope you are right. But with that levee break there were countless neighborhoods that went from dry streets to flooded to rooftop levels in a matter of minutes, not hours. This is the equivalent of a small dam breaking, however most people don't reside next to dams, unfortunately in NO whole neighborhoods bordered these levees

[thunderchief]

senators(from a location whos civilian government has completely failed) guessing at casualty numbers isnt helpful.