death toll may already be over 1,000

[f5]

hopefully it won't hit the Galveston hurricane of 1900 8,000-12,000 deaths.that is one deadly legacy this storm left

[PTrackerLA]

Seems the death toll in Louisiana is flattening out. Hopefully we won't go over 1,000. 900+ is still terrible and it's still hard for me to believe this is 2005.

[WeatherEmperor]

terrible. absolutely terrible.

<RICKY>

[fasterdisaster]

The death toll's still rising in Louisiana. Mississippi has a LOT more dead than the official toll. It was confirmed in a report by FEMA a week after Katrina hit that there were at least 1,000 dead in Harrison County.

[PTrackerLA]

The death toll's still rising in Louisiana. Mississippi has a LOT more dead than the official toll. It was confirmed in a report by FEMA a week after Katrina hit that there were at least 1,000 dead in Harrison County.

So are you saying there's a cover up? I don't see why they would hide the official count from the public like that.

[Ixolib]

The death toll's still rising in Louisiana. Mississippi has a LOT more dead than the official toll. It was confirmed in a report by FEMA a week after Katrina hit that there were at least 1,000 dead in Harrison County.

So are you saying there's a cover up? I don't see why they would hide the official count from the public like that.

The "cover up" rumor that was floating around at the Red Cross Center the other day was that the chemical company on the north side of Bay St. Louis accidently released something when they were covered by the surge. Then, as the waters receeded back into the GOM, those chemicals inundated the homes at the south end of the bay, supposedly killing anyone who managed to survive the storm.

Rumor or not, the destruction I've personally witnessed in Biloxi and Gulfport has - in most cases - left me without words. And I'm not typically an extremist who hypes things just for kicks. If folks did not evacuate in MANY of the areas I've seen (and those have actually been very few), then the 1,000 in Harrison County alone would not really surprise me. This surge hit more homes by surprise than ANYONE would or could have ever truly imagined. Experts included... It truly did a number that easily fit its comparisons of it being "biblical in nature". By the way, there are still five or six refridgerated 18-wheelers at the Bradford-O'Keefe funeral home in Biloxi - which we're told is the staging area for all those "recovered".

[djtil]

The death toll's still rising in Louisiana. Mississippi has a LOT more dead than the official toll. It was confirmed in a report by FEMA a week after Katrina hit that there were at least 1,000 dead in Harrison County.

LOL...and so it begins.

[Agua]

The death toll's still rising in Louisiana. Mississippi has a LOT more dead than the official toll. It was confirmed in a report by FEMA a week after Katrina hit that there were at least 1,000 dead in Harrison County.

So are you saying there's a cover up? I don't see why they would hide the official count from the public like that.

Well, the "official" death toll includes ONLY those bodies that have been positively identified. I've never understood what could be the motivation myself. However, I heard a similar report on news broadcast in Jackson a few days following the storm. No specific person was quoted, however. I'm paraphrasing here, but it went something like, "recovery workers said they have been doing nothing but stack up bodies. We were told they have already recovered over 1,000 bodies in Harrison County alone". That's pretty close to the report I heard. Looking at the damage along Point Cadet alone, I wouldn't doubt it, at all.

[PTrackerLA]

Just heard on the local news that the recovering of bodies in Louisiana has ended; all agencies have finished their searches. The official toll stands at 964 in Louisiana, which shows how overestimated initial figures were but STILL a horrible tragedy.

[simplykristi]

Whi would hgave thought over 1000 people would die from a hurricane in the US in 2005? It's surreal.

I heard on CNN's NewsNight that there could be more bodies in the 9th Ward of NO. We probably won't get an official count for a long time.

Kristi

[sfgal]

According to the Times-Picayune, the death toll increased by 35 from Friday (9/30) thru today (Mon, Oct 3). I do not understand how they believe that they've collected all the bodies when the death toll is still increasing at an average of 10 a day. In any event, I've seen nothing on the T-P site or the BR Advocate site indicating that the body recovery has ended and that the death toll is final. I did read somewhere that the State of Louisiana (or perhaps FEMA) is considering discontinuing the services of the private company that it had retained for body recovery. Some are dissatisfied with the company's work speed.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp ... tml#084618

[sfgal]

I stand corrected. PT was correct; the official sweep for bodies has ended:

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/10/03/D8D0TC000.html

[Agua]

According to the Times-Picayune, the death toll increased by 35 from Friday (9/30) thru today (Mon, Oct 3). I do not understand how they believe that they've collected all the bodies when the death toll is still increasing at an average of 10 a day. In any event, I've seen nothing on the T-P site or the BR Advocate site indicating that the body recovery has ended and that the death toll is final. I did read somewhere that the State of Louisiana (or perhaps FEMA) is considering discontinuing the services of the private company that it had retained for body recovery. Some are dissatisfied with the company's work speed.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp ... tml#084618

Because "death toll" does not equal "body count". See my post above.

[LAwxrgal]

I agree with Agua. Just because they've finished looking for bodies doesn't mean the death toll is final. They still have to ID the ones they've found and determine their cause of death. Unfortunately, I fear some people's bodies may never be found...

[Derek Ortt]

the confirmed dead is over 1200 now, 972 in Louisiana, 221 in MS, plus 15 in FL/GA/AL combined

[jasons2k]

Wasn't there a report last week (or at least very recent) that there were still over 8,000 missing in LA? At what point are the missing considered deceased, and how do they get an accurate count of that?

[caribepr]

Wasn't there a report last week (or at least very recent) that there were still over 8,000 missing in LA? At what point are the missing considered deceased, and how do they get an accurate count of that?

With no factual basis to cite, I'd say...you won't ever know, nor will I. After covering Andrew for the National Guard and being good friends with 3 nurses in Miami hospitals, I quit early on with any *conspiracy* theories as to why what was reported and what I heard and saw with my own ears and eyes differed so greatly.
Maybe there are, maybe there aren't hidden agendas in not telling what is actually the reality, but the ugly bottom line facts of disasters don't come out. Why? I don't know, though I can guess a lot. What good does it do in the end unless changes are made?
I only know things like (because I saw it happen)...the migrant workers in Homestead got the first trailers, government supplied (which had been very officially banned) so they could get back to harvesting whatever was left in the fields...
A woman here I know well is pretty big in FEMA - her thing is not about politics, it's about helping people and she does it extremely well (basically, she is this karate ass-kicker, verbally as well as physically, who doesn't care a whit about politics and somehow, they've let her stay on the job, relentlessly, she's rarely home). She also tells us what is *really* going on versus what we read. Big diff.
I don't have the energy to worry about the why of it, but would rather concentrate on the *fix*...if that makes any sense. Maybe I'm just getting old and tired.

[HurricaneBill]

the confirmed dead is over 1200 now, 972 in Louisiana, 221 in MS, plus 15 in FL/GA/AL combined

I wonder why they're not including the direct fatality in Kentucky? A girl drowned in floodwaters.

[Jim Cantore]

as for this I'd estimate the death toll at about 5000-7000

[simplykristi]

As of yeasterday, the death toll is 1,003 in LA only. The overall death count is 1,240.

Kristi