Posted on 08/30/2005 10:10:45 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
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.
More to follow....
Every forum has their nutcases, but they are not the majority here.
ty, ventana, for your kind remarks; and what you said above, that's absolutely true.
ty
"you have more positions than an epileptic hooker."
BWHAHAHAHA! I have never heard that one....love it.
OK. I don't really know what the fuss and argument really is at the core here, except that Freepers are fighting each other.
Here's some stats:
MISS
Population (1990 census). 2,586,443--rank, 31st state. Urban, 47.3%; rural, 52.7%. Persons per square mile, 54.8 (persons per square kilometer, 21.1)--rank, 31st state.
Extent. Area, 47,689 square miles (123,514 square kilometers), including 456 square miles (1,181 square kilometers) of water surface (32nd state in size).
Population (1990 census). 4,238,216--rank, 21st state. Urban, 68.6%; rural, 31.4%. Persons per square mile, 87.3 (persons per square kilometer, 33.7)--rank, 21st state.
Extent. Area, 48,523 square miles (125,674 square kilometers), including 3,989 square miles (10,331 square kilometers) of water surface (31st state in size).
Elevation. Highest, Driskill Mountain, 535 feet (163 meters), near Bienville; lowest, New Orleans, 5 feet (2 meters) below sea level; average, 100 feet (30 meters).
Population (1990 census). 4,062,608--rank, 22nd state. Urban, 60.0%; rural, 40.0%. Persons per square mile, 80 (persons per square kilometer, 30.9)--rank, 26th state.
Extent. Area, 51,705 square miles (133,915 square kilometers), including 938 square miles (2,429 square kilometers) of water surface (29th state in size).
Pick a % (percentage of these 3 states), say 5-15% of the square milage, and multiply that number by the persons per square mile. Throw in property damage of Florida, with its 4(?) dead, and Georgia and Virginia. Then we might be able to talk about a number of dead or injured. Now, whether this is closer to 3 or 5 or 15% is arguable, and whether this method is too broad is sketchy, but, still, we begin to be able to get an estimate. If we can get raw stats on square milage on pop/sq mile for cities and towns and bayous and rural areas, then, we're really talking.
The number rises as the days go by, since it looks like a lot of these folks tried to ride it out.
My 2 cents.
Source: http://www.really-fine.com/geography.html
No...the heat comes from people like you trying to treat a second hand report from a reputable FReeper like it was a reporter trying to write a "torpedo" aimed at Karl Rove.
If you hadn't been so busy trying to defend your own analysis while degrading MFH's credibility, you'd have noticed that.
Did you just hear the professor on CNN?
His estimates are in the thousands..... anybody catch that?
There was one specific poster who has been fighting tooth and nail about the inaccuracy of the original post. Rather than admit to the possibility he was wrong, his rebuttals have become ridiculous. You may have had the same position but not the original target.
I forgot. the MISS population is listed 1st, the LA pop 2nd, the AL 3rd.
My apologies.
A Professor Van Heerden.
I am not at home, so do not have access to either t.v. or radio....
please ping me if you get information concerning that.
thanks.
Hell, I don't listen to them either, and I R married to one ;o>
it's an original, actually. I spent some time in front of a brick wall sharing my observations to the besotted for pay.
Fox news headling is Mayor's statement of "thousands may be dead"
and President to speak at 5:00 ET
Just posted elsewhere:
Mississippi Suffering (Death toll to "soar")
NY Daily News ^
Posted on 08/31/2005 12:44:50 PM PDT by bikepacker67
Mississippi rescue workers ordered extra body bags yesterday after Hurricane Katrina dealt the state's casino-rich Gulf Coast a deadly hand. With more than 100 fatalities confirmed in Biloxi and Gulfport, Miss., officials predicted the death toll would soar as more bodies are pulled from the wreckage.
"We are very, very worried that this is going to go a lot higher," said Joe Spraggins, Civil Defense director for Harrison County, home to Biloxi and Gulfport. "We're just estimating, but the number could go double or triple from what we're talking now."
Katrina struck at dawn Monday with a30-foot storm surge that swamped floating casinos, swept aside million-dollar mansions and flattened apartment complexes.
Dozens of the victims lived in the Quiet Water Beach apartments in Biloxi, which collapsed like a house of cards when Katrina struck.
Landon Williams, 19, said he and his grandmother and uncle ran from the crumbling building as the storm hit. As they later swam through the swirling water and debris, "We watched the apartments disintegrate. You could hear the big pieces of wood cracking and breaking apart."
"I lost everything. We can't even find my car," he said. "I'm looking through this wreckage to see if I can find anything that's mine."
Thousands of Mississippians who thought they could ride out Katrina in their homes were still missing last night.
Among those who stayed put were relatives of Brett Favre, star quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, in Kiln, Miss. Everybody survived, but several of the family's homes were destroyed.
Favre said his mother was seven months pregnant with him when Hurricane Camille, which killed 256 people in Louisiana and Mississippi, struck in 1969.
"I've seen pictures," Favre said. "The damage was unbelievable."
Much of Gulfport was in ruins, and the National Guard was out in force after police found themselves unable to stop the widespread looting.
"I'm going to go out on a limb here - 75% of the buildings in Gulfport have major roof damage if they have a roof left at all," said Gulfport Fire Chief Pat Sullivan.
In Biloxi, five casinos were knocked out by the storm, including the Grand Casino Biloxi, which was lifted out of the water and tossed westward across U.S. Highway 90.
The new Hard Rock Casino, which was scheduled to open in early September, was also demolished. But its signature guitar sign somehow survived the storm. Nearby, all that remained of a new hotel were the toilets.
South of Interstate 10, much of the land remained under water and rescuers had to take to boats to remove stranded survivors from the rooftops.
North of there, the Biloxi and Tchoutacabouffa rivers had overflown their banks, leaving homes and business swamped with 8 or more feet of water.
You can get the 2000 census numbers for all questions at www.census.gov, they include population density. I would do it but I am at work.
And yet, you sir, are an idiot for posting a first person report from a personally trusted source on the ground in the thick of it.
Go figure.
And for the rest of you, the Crow Bake starts promptly at 6:00 PM with the MSM news.
Bring your appetite, there's plenty to go around...
LOL!
uh oh......don't tell him what we're saying. : )
I caught that. Of the 20% who did not evacuate, 'computer models' estimate 1/3 drowned. The numbers he used were horrific....claiming there were 200,000-300,000 left. 1/3 of those...
Actually I have heard that a number of countries have offered financial help.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.