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.
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.