"Some of Ike's missing may have just washed away" ("Exactly how many is anybody's guess")

[Bluebear]

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — The death toll from Hurricane Ike is remarkably low so far, considering that legions of people stayed behind as the storm obliterated row after row of homes along the Texas coast. But officials suspect there are more victims out there and say some might simply have been swept out to sea.

Exactly how many is anybody's guess, because authorities had no sure way to track those who defied evacuation orders. And the number of people reported missing after the storm, whose death toll stands at 17 in Texas, is fluctuating.

Search-and-rescue crews cleared out Wednesday after plucking survivors from Galveston and the devastated Bolivar Peninsula, and authorities are relying on Red Cross workers and beach patrols to run welfare checks on people named by anxious relatives.

"We don't know what's out there in the wilds," said Galveston County medical examiner Stephen Pustilniks. "Searchers weren't looking for bodies; they were looking for survivors."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGMMtnFZHl98JcNtk9G_9MSay_KAD938PE0G0

[hedgehog]

1. I'm kicking this because it seems to be a reputable source.

[jobycom]

3. It's reputable, but it doesn't scream "900 BODIES FLOATING IN THE GULF!!!"

So it's not going to get as much attention. :(

[jobycom]

2. Probably. We won't have an idea of how many for a couple of weeks, at least.

After missing persons reports have filtered in and been sorted for duplicate entries and further mistakes, and after people who are listed as missing discover that someone thinks they are missing and sorts it out, then they can get an idea of how many are missing.

There are marshes and channels behind Bolivar Peninsula, full of gators and other feeders, so a body doesn't have to wash out to see to be hard to find.

One thing I noticed in this article that piques my curiosity--they were at first claiming that 140,000 failed to evacuate, and that Galveston Island had 20,000 holdouts, and I read recently that the Bolivar area had around 200 to 250 people left behind. This article lowers the numbers to 90,000, 6,000, and "about two dozen," respectively. Hopefully these are revised estimates based on more accurate knowledge, rather than revisionist numbers meant to downplay concerns. It would be understandable that early estimates were high--usually are--but still, given this administration's lack of anything resembling honesty, one wonders.

[XOKCowboy]

5. given this administration's lack of anything resembling honesty, one wonders.

Amen brother (or sister). Wouldn't it be nice to listen to the President and actually believe the words coming out of his mouth? I'm 54 yrs old. I barely remember Ike but do remember JFK. I remember my Dad telling me about sitting around the radio and listening to FDRs Fireside Chats. Wouldn't it be great to have leaders like that again?

[jobycom]

6. Maybe. But then again, FDR lied, too. What's changed is us.

Growing up makes things less pretty, but more real.

[KT2000]

4. It would just be illogical

to look at the shards of homes having washed ashore and not believe that people had washed away too. Just hope most of the beachfront people did evacuate.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. Washed away or buried in debris, it's going to take some time to figure out the real toll.

It stills feels wrong that FEMA closed the airspace for several days and that media have had restricted access.

[bsdetector]

8. Obviously someone looking for survivors would never notice bodies.

I'm sure.

[Bluebear]

9. ??

[FogerRox]

10. Were thousands lost in NOLA. ?

Gators?

I heard 3600 missing in NOLA.

[reggie the dog]

20. gators, sharks etc.

[Junkdrawer]

11. Congratulations, Chertoff...

You got away with it. But then, I knew you would. You always do.

[JVS]

12. 900,000,000!

[Bluebear]

16. I don't understand your reply?

[readmoreoften]

13. Since 34 people were rescued floating in the bay according to Jeff Masters at Weather Underground

over a period of 4 days, I think it's safe to assume that more than a few were unable to survive. I have to say that I am less disturbed by rumors of 900 than I am by the insistence of some that there are no dead. Let's rescue the living but then be sure to count the dead. I'd feel more comfortable if reporters were permitted access as they were in Katrina.

[liberalhistorian]

14. That is really so sad;

even if it only turns out to be a few bodies, it's still a few too many. It would be especially sad if there were a lot of missing that were washed out to sea and never found and families never knew for sure what had happened and had no real closure.

[EFerrari]

15. Oh, no.

:(

Thanks, Bluebear.

[Firespirit]

17. LA LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

Artificially low body count for Ike? Not a chance. What kind of government would attempt to cover up a death toll? That's like hiding the coffins of soldiers killed in war.

Mark my words, the final count will be at least triple-digit. It probably won't be released for another couple of weeks, and when it is released it won't be front-page news like it would be if it came out today. Whatever the motive is -- and hell, I'll give them the benefit of a doubt, maybe they just want to get the figure finalized first -- they will get what they want in the end. They can't keep the count hidden forever, but when it is released, it'll be buried on page 17A or something, which is the point.

There are over 700 still missing in Katrina. Eventually they will be changed to "presumed dead" and the count for Katrina will top 2,500. But that won't make headline news either.

[LonelyLRLiberal]

18. A reporter said houses, dead cows and all kinds of debris were floating in the bay.

When you look at the photos showing block after block of empty lots and you know that thousands did not evacuate from Galveston Island, there just have to be more casualties.

[Psyop Samurai]

19. Finally -- an article that realistically addresses the human toll...

...instead of playing nanny and insulting people who have been concerned enough to follow this story from the beginning.

Still, there's this gem from Galveston County medical examiner Stephen Pustilniks: "We don't know what's out there in the wilds. Searchers weren't looking for bodies; they were looking for survivors."

Well, um..., ok, yeah, they were, of course, looking for survivors.

But compare this statement to Mark Collette and Rhiannon Meyers's account on Monday:

Authorities are still in search-and-rescue mode. About 24,000 people didn’t heed evacuation orders. Rescuers are leaving the dead in houses and moving on to look for the living.

Unlike in New Orleans after Katrina, they are not spray painting a giant "X" on a building when they find bodies. Instead, they are putting discrete stickers on the buildings. On the one hand, government officials seem to be trying to keep the media from portraying the true extent of the disaster, but on the other hand officers are tipping off reporters about deaths and rescues.

I had read about a man who miraculously survived, floating the whole way to the mainland on a piece of wood :wow:, but I can't find the article right now.