Katrina: Death Toll Estimates to be Revised Downward
Some good news, the death toll from Katrina looks to be significantly less than what had earlier been reported.
Mayor Ray Nagin had warned earlier this week that the death toll could reach 10,000. State emergency authorities had ordered 25,000 body bags. Louisiana US Sen. David Vitter said his “guesses” started at 10,000.
However, based on the results of the initial sweep in New Orleans, the death toll from may not be nearly as high as these estimates. Friday, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals was reporting the official number of dead around the New Orleans area stood at 118. As of last Thursday, Mississippi had recorded 201 deaths, while other affected states had much lower numbers.
On a more gruesome note, it was stated that the rural areas east of St Bernard Parish, some bodies will never be found because alligators will have taken them away, locals said.
On a related note, some 400 to 500 police officers from New Orleans’ 1,600-member force were unaccounted for, Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said. How many of these officers just walked off their posts while armed looters were holding rescuers at bay is still being determined.
Updates: Malkin reports that FEMA head Michael Brown will soon be among the missing (a decision Wizbang has been calling for several days). Captain Ed reports that the left is using the disaster to stimulate political donations…”blood money”? (I’m sure the right would do the same thing but can’t think of a similar example). QandO has a first hand account of the destruction from a rescuer–riveting.
Further updates: Winds of Change reports that the state of Louisiana explicitly and repeatedly blocked the Red Cross and Salvation Army from bringing food/water to the Superdome (Is this really true? Anyone?).
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September 9th, 2005 at 7:57 pm
i hope they all get saved and helpd
September 9th, 2005 at 10:53 pm
Could not agree with you more. Politics is politics but there are so many human issues to address. In our area, some of the refugees are being enrolled in the school. These kids have been completely uprooted but they don’t want to miss a whole school year and/or be set back even more than they are. It’s just so sad. As stated above, the death toll looks to be coming down a lot, and I’m hoping that the missing are really just spread out across the country and it is just a process of getting them in touch with eachother. Our family has a single out-of-state family member that everyone is to use as a single point of contact if anything like that hit here. Not sure how common that is but we’ve had it my whole life–I guess it’s just living in an earthquake zone.
September 9th, 2005 at 11:44 pm
I don’t know if the sate of Louisiana “explicitly and repeatedly blocked the Red Cross and Salvation Army from bringing food/water to the Superdome,” but I saw a report tonight on the Federal bureaucracy surrounding the entrance of first responders from outside states. For example, if your were a group sent by Indiana to aid in the relief efforts (even if you were already in – lets say – Mississippi), you’d have to wait until a formal petition of aid was sent to Indiana; then wait till the state of Indiana sent a certification of your group, the people involved, and the equipment or materials (food, water, boats, etc.) being used or delivered; and then you’d have to wait for FEMA to approve your entrance and your ability to provide relief.
All this red tape was obviously designed after 9/11 as a way to control whom goes where under a terrorist attack. And, in that case, it makes sense. You don’t know who’s a friend, and who’s a foe. But in this case, it just made relief take that much longer to get there. Moreover, it is interesting to note that because of all this red tape, groups sent from Canada began relief operations in the affected areas even before groups from other stated did, even if those groups from other states got to the area before the groups from Canada.
There’s also this group of volunteer paramedics (about 15 of them) organized by FEMA. They were some of the support responders deployed to the area early last week, but they’ve been moved around so much that by yesterday they had only assisted in healing one man with a superficial cut. Now the group is complaining that they volunteered to aid people, not to be moved around from state to state .
Even more shocking was the video I saw of Shepard Smith explaining why people in New Orleans weren’t allowed to exit the city. Apparently, its not that they couldn’t leave the city, it was that they had to wait for an escort to do so. I guess this also has something to do with what I explained earlier. DHS doesn’t know who’s a friend or a foe, and, after 9/11, they created this rigid way of guaranteeing people whom aren’t allowed to travel between affected areas don’t.
Now, back to the state of Louisiana blocking the Red Cross and Salvation Army, was this before or after Katrina (Corina if you’re Laura Bush) hit? It must have been before because after the hurricane Louisiana lost most of its infrastructure, especially in and around New Orleans, which means there was no way they could enforce that blockade. They also don’t have to manpower. The Red Cross and the Salvation Army should’ve just plowed on through.
September 10th, 2005 at 5:24 am
Mac:
> Now, back to the state of Louisiana blocking the Red Cross and Salvation Army, was this before or after Katrina (Corina if you’re Laura Bush) hit?
The linked Winds of Change post provides links to the primary sources, including the Red Cross website FAQ and an interview with reporter Major Garrett, who broke the story. It’s news because Louisiana blocked Red Cross and Salvation Army aid at the time that those wrenching images of trapped, hungry, thirsty people were being broadcast around the world.
That FEMA bears responsibility for many cockups is important, but that is a different story. How does the one excuse or explain the other? How does it justify the silent treatment for the one but not the other?
September 10th, 2005 at 7:38 am
You two make a great point counter point so I have another question for both of you. Why the forced evaculations? I understand the benefits of a locked down area, I understand not knowing who’s a looter and who’s a homeowner, I understand the risk of disease, fire, etc. and that the people that they leave in their today could be the people that have to be rescued tomorrow, but at some point wouldn’t it be possible to just let folks stay where they live if they insist? Hearing stories about people being forced out of the homes that they’ve defended against nature and then armed gangs is disturbing.
September 10th, 2005 at 8:47 pm
Insider,
Short answer, I don’t know the answer to your question on forced evacuations.
Longer answer, it’s probably akin to the issues raised about regulating mountain climbing in National Parks. Climbers are willing to accept risks of injury and death, so why should authorities close areas at times of great danger (e.g. high risk of avalanches)? On the other hand, Park Superintendants are going to allow S&R teams to go in for rescue efforts, risking their own lives–as a society, we aren’t so callous / rational (your choice) that we will stand back and watch those foolish or unlucky climbers slowly freeze to death.
For some months, New Orleans will be a city without an economy, without water, sewers, electricity, phones, trash collection, hospitals, schools, police services, schools, grocery stores, mail, banks… And with polluted water and muck widespread. And widespread opportunities for looting and mischief, as well as for getting in trouble and requiring rescue. If “everyone” can’t go back, how to select the few that the city could support? Simpler and perhaps fairer just to make a blanket “nobody” statement.
…I wouldn’t have offered this speculation, except that you asked…
September 10th, 2005 at 10:11 pm
Perhaps if they had a plan on when and how people could come back then people would be more willing to go out. Whe we had the earthquake here in 94, some of the red tagged buildings were kept off limits up to and after the wrecking ball. A lot of doctors, lawyers, etc. didn’t even get the chance to run in and get laptops, etc., things with patient’s records, tax records, etc. The argument was the same but a lot of these folks just wanted 15 minutes to grab what they could and were denied. I think the lesson that some learned was that they should have gone in earlier when they had the chance. For the folks of New Orleans, even if the houses are largely destroyed they could have all kinds of things there that they don’t want to see destroyed and the local government hasn’t exactly been on the ball in protecting property. Just a thought.
September 11th, 2005 at 3:55 am
credits Penn with averting almost 10,000 deaths from Katrina and bases its calculation on the following: Before Penn’s arrival in New Orleans the death toll estimates ranged from 10,000 to 25,000. After 3 days of Penn’s boat rescues, the official death toll is now around 300 . While there are still many people missing that certainly can’t be Penn’s fault and those deaths shouldn’t count against his number. Thus it’s both accurate and fair to give him credit for the 10,000-300 or 9,700 lives saved.
September 11th, 2005 at 11:23 am
For a set of under-reported stories and perspectives that are vital to a balanced understanding of Katrina and New Orleans, check out Randall Parker’s blog ParaPundit. Just about every post of the past two weeks links to eye-opening accounts that I haven’t read elsewhwere. Relevant to this discussion, Parker points out that the wealthy Orleans Parish district of Algiers does not appear to be subject to mandatory evacuation.
Parker displays his animosity to the “church of political correctness” in both its leftist and rightist denominations. His anti-multi-culti stance will give great offense to many readers. But the reality he links, comments on, and describes: tragically, it persists.
March 5th, 2006 at 10:41 am
Katrina: Death Toll Estimates to be Revised Downward from Independent Sources
January 22nd, 2007 at 10:12 pm
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