6,644 are still missing after Katrina; toll may rise

[Thom Little]

The whereabouts of 6,644 people reported missing after Hurricane Katrina have not been determined, raising the prospect that the death toll could be higher than the 1,306 recorded so far in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to two groups working with the federal government to account for victims.

Most of those who remain listed as unaccounted-for 12 weeks after the storm probably are alive and well, says Kym Pasqualini, chief executive officer of the National Center for Missing Adults. She says they are listed as missing because government record-keeping efforts haven't caught up with them in their new locations.

However, Pasqualini says those counting the victims are particularly concerned about an estimated 1,300 unaccounted-for people who lived in areas that were heavily damaged by Katrina, or who were disabled at the time the storm hit. The fact that authorities haven't been able to determine what happened to them suggests that the death toll from Katrina could climb significantly.

Some of those on the list of people still missing are likely to be among the 301 unidentified victims whose bodies are at a Louisiana state morgue in St. Gabriel. Those victims already are included in the death total.



http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-21-katrina-missing_x.htm

[FloridaPat]

1. About 100 volunteers - and Im sure they are out there - would have

gone through all those homes in a week or two. But no, our government didn't want volunteers in NO. So instead these people, who have suffered more than anyone else in the last 50-100 years have to come back and find dead relatives in their destroyed homes. The repub party at it's finest hour.

[malaise]

3. As horrifying as it must be

to find dead relatives, I'd prefer to find my people dead than have to suffer like so many people who are still waiting for their relatives bodies to be released by officials. Further knowing that they are dead is better than wondering about them for the rest of their lives.

Bushco will continue to pay for the neglect of NOLA citizens.

[uppityperson]

27. They are still finding bodies under debris in MS too

It is a mess. Many bodies will never be found, just rotted and bulldozed or washed out to sea/swamp to decompose. I was in the grocery store looking at shrimp yesterday and had to make sure where the shrimp came from (Oregon was safe). Bay shrimp and Thailand shrimp give me the willies, especially bay shrimp with all the pollutants.

[PegDAC]

35. South Carolina shrimp should be OK,

IF you can find it!
:)

[malaise]

2. Just heard that on the news

This is truly sad, but it is good that the media are not letting this issue die. Anderson Cooper has not let up on NOLA. We all know many more people died than those figures suggest.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Best homeland security ever...... not. Don't people get fired for this

sort of thing, imagine had it been Clinton... my my my we would have several dozen impeachment proceedings going on all at the same time.

[MissWaverly]

32. It's too bad that they spend 140 hours investigating

Clintons Christmas cards and 8 hours on Abu Ghraib.

[kstewart33]

12. That's good to hear about Cooper

Katrina must not be forgotten; so much remains to be done, and from what I'm reading, not much is happening in this regard.

[bluestateguy]

5. The conventional wisdom says that usually 10% of those folks are dead

That's what most experts usually say. I remember after 9/11, there were over 7,000 missing, but that number went down every day, due to double counting, misunderstandings and other chaotic circumstances. Figure a few are already counted in the morgue, and you probably have another 400-500 to the toll.

[markus]

16. The Mississippi outcome from Katrina was 14%

on the state's own "official" missing list.

You can find a link to this on the Remembering All the Dead on All Saints Day post at wetbankguide.blogpost.com (should still be up, or in November archive).

That would about double the death toll.

[Bridget Burke]

20. Conventional wisdom?

And who are most experts?

[RaleighNCDUer]

23. I should think it would be significantly more than that.

The survivors have been on government lists for two months, getting aid of one sort or another. It would be a relatively simple thing to cross-check the lists. Anyone getting aid would be cut from the missing list.

The list of missing is NOT decreasing to any significant degree. After 9/11, most of the missing were located within days, weeks at the outside. I know we're dealing the a much larger original population, but it is still a smaller list of missing.

I expect the final total to be at least double the current number. But they won't release those numbers until after the holidays. They don't want to look like Grinches to the country at large, and don't care about the relatively few people directly connected to the missing.

[pitohui]

30. older people still missing are dead

if they were alive, they'd be withdrawing their social security from their direct deposits -- all banks were online and giving access to your accounts within a couple of weeks, even omni bank which had every location destroyed

elders collecting social security who are no longer collecting it are dead

some who "are" collecting it are dead -- an adult child, an ex, or a con artist is now collecting on the funds and will be for years, it's easy, since you never have to show your face, social security puts in the direct deposit, when you need money, you take it out of the bank using the debit card, if you know someone well you likely know their PIN or at least i do i'm afraid!

[butterfly77]

33. I don't believe there are only 400-500

Lets say 4,000 to 5000. People were eaten by alligators and washed out to sea,etc ...this is another cover up by bush and his believers

[NMDemDist2]

6. K & R'd n/t

[highnooner]

7. 5,500 adults still missing

because of admin counting errors. Whether that is correct or not, it does not speak very highly of FEMA.

[Demeter]

8. We Won't Know Anything Until the 2010 Census

and even then, there will be room for doubt. I wouldn't let this bunch organize a bake sale.

[liberal N proud]

9. government record-keeping efforts haven't caught up with them

:wtf:

I bet the government won't have any trouble finding them when it comes tax time.

12 weeks, if they are still alive, wouldn't they be looking for relatives by now?

[spinbaby]

10. Incompetence all around

Why, for instance, was no official Web site set up to track the missing? Every news organization and charity organization had its own Web site to find missing Katrina victims but there was no central official site. It would have been such an easy thing to do.

[LizW]

11. If government record-keeping can't find them

to determine if they're alive or dead, that means they aren't getting any aid, either. You can bet the government isn't looking very hard.

[leesa]

13. So how long do you wait to declare them dead? After the 2006 elections?

[MsMagnificent]

29. exactamundo!

Standard Operating Procedures for this administration.

& we, the Dem's, keep letting them get away with it!
I'd like to think that recently our leaders have started regrowing a backbone, let's hope it continues.

[lonestarnot]

14. Direct from a fema employee on the ground right after the hurricane

10K Dead.

[markus]

17. That's the project death toll form mythical Hurricane Pam

At least, I think it was called Pam. It was a diaster simulation exercise, and was the projected death toll for The Big One in New Orleans.

That's where that came from. Nagin and other's weren't just pulling that number out of the air. They were saying, it could be as high as the projection.

I think it may be very, very high.

I'm suspicious that someone won't run down every single listed missing person.


The problem with FEMA is they register households (one beneficiary per), not individuals.

I think that the death toll is higher than 9-11. And the Admin will make everything in there power to never let that get into the public domain.

[markus]

18. More Info

on Wet Bank Guide

Waking the Dead

Remembering All the Dead on All Saints Day

Dead and Presumed Missing

[Kurovski]

25. Bush wouldn't want the world to know that his own negligence

killed more Americans than the terrorists did on 9/11.

Come to think of it, Bush's negligence had plenty to do with that as well.

[Ian David]

15. FEMA, La. outsource Katrina body count to firm implicated in body-dumping

FEMA, La. outsource Katrina body count to firm implicated in body-dumping scandals

Miriam Raftery

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has hired Kenyon International to set up a mobile morgue for handling bodies in Baton Rouge, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, RAW STORY has learned.

Kenyon is a subsidiary of Service Corporation International (SCI), a scandal-ridden Texas-based company operated by a friend of the Bush family. Recently, SCI subsidiaries have been implicated in illegally discarding and desecrating corpses.

Louisiana governor Katherine Blanco subsequently inked a contract with the firm after talks between FEMA and the firm broke down. Kenyon's original deal was secured by the Department of Homeland Security.

In other words, FEMA and then Blanco outsourced the body count from Hurricane Katrina -- which many believe the worst natural disaster in U.S. history -- to a firm whose parent company is known for its "experience" at hiding and dumping bodies.

More:
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/FEMA_outsources_Katrina_body_count_to_firm_implicated_in_bodydumping_scan_0913.html

[melody]

19. And those are just the ones reported missing

There is an unknown number of people without living records or relatives/friends to represent them.

[RaleighNCDUer]

24. True. With N.O.'s balmy climate there could have been any number of

homeless on the streets whose nearest relatives have no idea they were there.

If you haven't heard from Uncle Joe in ten years, and last you knew he was in Tampa, would you report him missing?

[Nimrod2005]

21. Heck of a job Brownie probably can explain it?

[PurpleChez]

22. No need to worry, George. I bet most of the missing are Darkies.

Heckuva job.

[sarcasmo]

26. Kick and Nom to the top. We won't know the real number until MR Danger

is out of office.

[Tsiyu]

28. After the hurricanes in Florida the press was still on its

honeymoon with Bu$$$$$$$$HCo.

Americans for the most part were too gullible and cowardly to demand answers to the total deaths in Florida.

Those days are long gone. They can try all they like to claim there were fewer deaths than 911, but I know in my heart of hearts that, because of the criminal negligence of ** and Brownie and others, many many many more people died than in the twin towers.

** caused many of those deaths. May their screams haunt him til the day he croaks himself.

[BJW]

31. HEY ALL--there's still thousands of pets needing rescue

I'm not kidding. It's a critical situation that isn't being covered by M$M. Animal rescue groups in NOLA need people to help out NOW. See my other post under "greatest" for more info.

[butterfly77]

34. Even if there was no Iraq situation..

I believe this administrations poll numbers would be down, because people would be focusing on Katrina even more. Some people want to make excuses for Bush no matter what, remember a storm or some disaster can hit anywhere. Do you want this liar and his team in charge some people won't change their mind about this bastard until something hits them and they can't pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Does anyone remember the people in mississippi who lost everything and Katrina and all of the layoffs and job cuts throughout the country and all of the cuts he bush admin has made no safety net and Avian flu and lie,lie, lie,lie,lie lie ,lie,lie,lie,lie,lie,lie,lie,lie,lie