Has this been confirmed? I remember after Andrew, there were many reports of "Thousands dead", and these reports all came from "credible witnesses". Turned out that these reports became urban legends. After the storm and the official count was so low, conspiracy theories arose, I heard them from LEO even!
I have no doubt the numbers will be higher than they are now, but perhaps this person is relaying a particularly gruesome find, and somehow generalizing it to the entire area..
Andrew was terrible, but it hit a region of homes that were much better constructed than lower MS/LA. The swath of damage was smaller as well, and the problem was wind... not surge. It's easier to protect yourself from wind than 30-40 feet of water mixed with wood.