Katrina - not 100s, 1000s dead? A fearsome report

Katrina looked fearful Sunday night at cat 5, but was downgraded to 4 before hitting the US coast. By Tuesday, things took a turn for the worse as Biloxi appeared scrapped clean and NO went from minor flooding to major, resulting in total evac orders.

The following communique, therefore, may just represent a worsening trend - or a harbinger of staggering news to come.

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Astonishing Exclusive From Mississippi
Paramedic Rescue Operation | 8-31-05 | My Favorite Headache

Posted on 08/30/2005 10:10:45 PM PDT

It is with heavy heart I write this...

I have finally reconnected with my best friend who is a paramedic who was sent from Georgia 2 days ago to Gulf Port, Mississippi before the hurricane hit.

He just reached me within the last 10 mins via emergency cell phone to tell me he was alive.

Thousands of bodies have been discovered throughout Mississippi in Gulf Port, Waveland,Hancock County,Bay of St.Louis.

They are hanging in trees and they are pulling them out 30 at a time. Entire families found drowned in their homes and washing up on shore.

The stories he could tell me were brief. National Guard is on the scene and arresting anyone seen on the streets.

The numbers are staggering and what I have been told tonight will shake people to their foundation as the numbers will be coming out in the next 24-hours of just how many people have actually perished in these and 3 other beach communities.
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Apparently, the state of Mississippi maintains that a mere one-third of the population evacuated, and so the above could be indicative.

AP story here:
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HURRICANE_KATRINA?SITE=RIWAR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-08-31-03-04-32

 

CNN update - depressing

Governor: Worse than Camille

Thousands of homes destroyed; Katrina's death toll likely to rise

Wednesday, August 31, 2005; Posted: 7:36 a.m. EDT (11:36 GMT)

BILOXI, Mississippi (CNN) -- Hurricane Katrina has inflicted more damage to Mississippi's beach towns than Hurricane Camille did, and its death toll is likely to be higher, the state's governor said Tuesday.

Camille killed 143 people when it struck the state's coastal counties in 1969 and a total of 256 after it swept inland.
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In the small town of Bay St. Louis, search and rescue crews marked with red paint homes known to contain bodies, because there weren't enough refrigerated trucks to remove the corpses, according to CNN correspondent Gary Tuchman.

Jason Green, of the Harrison County Coroner's Office, said funeral homes in Gulfport had received 26 bodies since the storm passed. Residents who have returned to their homes were calling to report bodies or were bringing them to funeral homes, he said.

And in Biloxi, emergency crews fear 30 people died in an apartment complex on the beach when the building collapsed in the storm.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/30/katrina.mississippi/index.html

 

Katrina appears to be the bad one we've all been fearing here on the Gulf Coast. I hope the "thousands" figure isn't accuate but from what I'm hearing and seeing, it may be. It looks like a nuke went off over there. This is awful.

 

On the water

I'm sorry 30 people in one place died but I have to attempt for thinking, "What the hell were they thinking?" Remember the infamous "hurricane party" of Camille? That was when 30+ people decided to have a party in a hotel on the beach. There was one survivor. Didn't these 30 learn anything from that event? They were in an apartment less than 1/4 of a mile from the beach!! Didn't they see pictures of Andrew? Charley? Camille?

Some people think they are invincible, I guess.

 

The guilty party here, since we can't blame Mother Nature for meteorological phenonema, is human complacency.

I suspect that people who live in the hurricane belt see that many storms end up far weaker than initially predicted and conclude that their hurricane preparation was a waste. The populous then looks at the next forecast by the National Hurricane Center as being overly pessimistic. Human nature being what it is, people fail to evacuate or prepare for the next hurricane. The greater the period of time between deadly hurricanes, the less prepared the public becomes. Then a storm that magnitude of Katrina hits and the result is catastrophic.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

While the immediate concerns are to rescue survivors and get water/food to the victims, followed by repairing the infrastructure, THE long-term question remains to be addressed. (but don't expect GW to do it, it won't happen) That question is, of course, is it good public policy for the U.S. to encourage the residential development/suburbanization of hurricane-prone coastal areas and flood zones of the Southeast and the Gulf of Mexico? How many times are we (collectively) going to rebuild (thanks to insurance and government assistance) in areas that are highly likely to get hit by another strong hurricane in the near future? Consider areas like the Outer Banks of North Carolina, coastal South Carolina/Georgia, barrier islands along the Florida coast, the Florida Keys and the Gulf Coast.

 

Consider areas like the Outer Banks of North Carolina, coastal South Carolina/Georgia, barrier islands along the Florida coast, the Florida Keys and the Gulf Coast.



Yes we in the Houston-Galveston area are worried about that scenario as well. Our time is coming. I just hope that we are up to the challenge. My heart goes out to the people of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. My kinfolks are staying with us from Kenner, Louisiana. They can go back to Jefferson Parish on Monday to get essential things and then stay away for a month. Unbelievable.

 

New Orleans Mayor: Thousands Likely Dead
Aug 31 6:59 PM US/Eastern
AP
Authorities all but surrendered the streets of New Orleans to floodwaters, looting and other lawlessness Wednesday as the mayor called for a total evacuation and warned the death toll from Hurricane Katrina could reach into the thousands.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/31/D8CB3CF81.html
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Khan! Tireman (and family) - good to hear from old voices here. (Where's a certain Tom from Miss, or was it Alabama?)

I have a Denver buddy from NO with folks and siblings in NO and across Lake Ponch. Knowing him (security consulting services), he was there for Katrina Hurr prep and is now part of the recovery.
Of course, no word from him yet.

Deb and Tom H are right to raise this issue - it's something we, as a society, ought to debate.
Our governments subsidize stupity and we shouldn' tbe surprise to get more of it (including entitlement-based looting). Incentives matter.

There are two problems with paring back the US disaster safety net. First, being on the Gulf waters is an undeniably attractive amenity. Second, given our nation's net and increasing wealth, there's little pressure to have stupid risks increasingly internalized for events that happen only every 10 or 15 years somewhere in our country.

But this deserves mention: in NO, under fed rules adopted 10 or more years ago, you couldn't get a mortgage w/o flood insurance. Granted, this is federal insurance - so we're all whacked! But it's better than nothing as was the case with Camille and other hurr disasters there,

 

I am surprised at what Texas has been able to pull together as far as accommodations at the Astrodome for the victims of Katrina-- In part because they were prepared for what might hit Houston/Galveston (mine and hubby's hometowns).

I just saw a man on the news who was rescued from his roof . He was asked why he didn't leave early enough to escape. His response was that he was as stupid as he looked.

 

Are there any spammers among 'em, by any chance?

Oh, alright. I'll stop.

 

Re: Re: Katrina - not 100s, 1000s dead? A fearsome report

Learner
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Liberalism is a mental disorder
The enemy within

 

Re: Re: Katrina - not 100s, 1000s dead? A fearsome report

If this is some sort of humor on your part then I feel sorry for you. You have NO CLUE what we are going through over here right now. I have been in Law Enforcement for 10 years and have never seen so much misery and destruction in the U.S. as I have seen in New Orleans. It's been about a week since I checked these forums and expected to find some Katrina posts and let the guys on this board know what we are going through and thanks them for the responses. I am trying to find glimmers of hope in this disaster we are going through down here just like most of us here, but even with your few words posted you have show the insensitivity that is common with someone that has no clue. I HOPE and PRAY that you never have an experience even remotely close to this, but if you do I hope that people come to your aid instead of making comments such as yours on message boards. If any of you guys want to help please contact the Red Cross, or dial 1800 Help-Now. I am exhausted and was just trying to catch up on what was going on in the forums and I am delirious from lack of sleep. Thanks for the prayers of support...I am off to bed...

 

Okay, fine. You guys wanna' cross-post? No problem. I can do this all day long...

It's about SPAMMERS for godsake! What brand of clueless does a person -- even one in crisis -- have to be to not get that?

Oy.

Whew. Good... 'cause... there's just about no other way to explain how badly you missed the point.

It's about SPAMMERS, not hurricane victims. Sheez.

Oooh. Ouch.

 

Re: Re: Re: Katrina - not 100s, 1000s dead? A fearsome report

Soupbone,

As I watch from the other side of the Atlantic I cannot believe the abject misery Katrina has caused. Please be assured our thoughts and prayers are with you and those helping alongside you, and the many thousands left homeless and with lost family.

Thankyou.

Dave C.

Gregg,

Time and a place. C'mon. Human suffering and crass humor just doesn't go.

 

It's terrible, the loss of life grows and grows; the ripped apart infrastructure, for many residents it will be months, if not years before life can assume any normality.
Especially the roads, much needed for life support, they look so bad that Andrew and Hugo look like quick fixes next to Katrina.
Gavin

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Katrina - not 100s, 1000s dead? A fearsome report

Overwhelming loss polarizes the soul. Even when one doesn't directly experience the trauma, it nonetheless reminds us of our existential vulnerability and ultimate, inevitable loss of self through death.

Therefore some retreat to "gallows" humor - even if tritely expressed. I say we ignore him if one can't stand it.

-Orson

 

Back again guys after a long and exhausting day...DesElms I appreciate the clarification and thank all of you for the support. The situation here grows increasingly more desperate as each day passes. We do have lots of great people working around the clock and I know that this situation will be under control very soon. This is something that even when I signed up for 10 years in law enforcement that I would ever see. Thanks for all your thoughts, and I will write again as soon as I can. I'm off to bed again...

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Katrina - not 100s, 1000s dead? A fearsome report

Dave... you know I luv 'ya, but now yer pissin' me off. Er... well... not so much you, individually, really; but, rather, the sentiment you're expressing. The notion that one person's brand and quality of reaction is superior to anothers -- within limits, of course -- is just outrageous. You (and, in this case, by "you" I really mean not so much you, personally, but everyone around here who's spending entirely too much time pointing out to people how they should be comporting themselves, given the circumstances) don't know anywhere near enough about me or how I feel about this tragedy to attempt to guide my response and commentary.

Be careful... and stay safe.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Katrina - not 100s, 1000s dead? A fearsome report

Gregg,

I very reluctantly post anything that could be deemed confrontational. I simply feel that on a forum that is viewed by thousands we should be somewhat circumspect about the content of said posts, and should respect the fact the some perhaps have a lower threshold than others for light hearted humor directed at human suffering.

I would never judge you or anybody else via what they say on a forum. Who can know the day-to-day struggles of each of us?
As we hide behind our forum persona we can say what we wish. These people do not know us and never will. That said I would like to feel my forum personality reflects who I am, or maybe who I strive to be.

I continue to learn from you Gregg, but continue to be surprised that you let yourself post hastily sometimes. I say all this with dove on shoulder and olive branch in hand.

Far more importantly Soupbone, we continue to think of you at this time.

Peace, friends,

Dave C.