Mississippi search crews pulling bodies from rubble - railroad tracks about six blocks from beach

Houston Chronicle ^ | August 31, 2005 | THOMAS KOROSEC

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Heaviest loss of life appears to be from Biloxi building collapse

GULFPORT, MISS. - Stunned residents emerged from shelters and homes Tuesday to start assessing the massive damage left by Hurricane Katrina as rescuers pulled bodies from crushed homes and apartments near the coast.

The death toll in this hard-hit county rose to more than 100, but officials believe that number will rise. "There's so much rubble, we won't know for a while. But I fully expect the number to be in the hundreds," said Jason Green, assistant to the Harrison County coroner.

In an auxiliary morgue downtown, hearses unloaded bodies uncovered by search-and-rescue teams.

"Several families have brought in their dead," Green said.

County Supervisor Connie Rockco said it appears the heaviest loss of life was in east Biloxi, where an apartment building collapsed and killed 30 people.

"But there are fatalities from one end of the county to the other," Rockco said.

Gulfport Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said most of those who died in Gulfport perished in the zone of the storm surge, which pushed up to a set of railroad tracks about six blocks from the beach.

"We begged, we pleaded, we demanded. We told them they had a good chance of dying if they didn't leave. But there's only so much government can do to protect people," Sullivan said. "Too many people tried to ride it out. We can't regulate good sense."

Thought they were safe

Sullivan said many homes that survived the catastrophic Hurricane Camille in 1969 were washed away by Katrina.

"People in them thought they were safe, that lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place," he said.

In Biloxi, at the Quiet Water Beach apartments, at least 30 people died when the two-story building crumbled in the storm Monday. One resident, Joy Schovest, told the Associated Press she swam for her life.

"We grabbed a lady and pulled her out the window and then we swam with the current," said Schovest, 55, breaking into tears. "It was terrifying. You should have seen the cars floating around us. We had to push them away when we were trying to swim."

All that remained of the apartment complex was a concrete slab surrounded by a heap of red bricks that were once the building's walls. A crushed red toy wagon, jewelry, clothing and twisted boards were mixed in with the debris.

Gulfport Police Lt. Michael Shaw said he and others in his search crew carried bodies across stretches of rubble that ran blocks from the beach.

"I've lived here all my life, and in some places we were, I couldn't recognize where I was," Shaw said.

The central part of the city, near the coast, looked as though it had been rocked by an explosion. At the waterfront, the blocklong floating Copa Casino had been heaved about 200 yards onto the shore. Its sides were blown to tatters, especially on the lower levels of the roughly six-floor structure.

The floating Grand Casino also was pushed aground and came to rest several blocks west of its former location.

On the beachfront U.S. 90, near the center of town, Hugh Keting surveyed where his law office used to be. The two-story stucco house had been scraped off its foundation, although a huge live oak next to it remained with hardly a damaged branch.

Dwight Harper's workplace was all but gone, too. He works for Dole, which runs a shipping operation on the docks. Some of the facility's two-story-tall unloaders and other heavy equipment were tossed about the edge of downtown.

Inside First Presbyterian Church, which faces the water about a block from the shore, waves had pounded away the plaster up to a line about 6 feet high across the entire back wall. The floor was covered with 3 inches of sand.

Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr said the beachfront shopping center that he and his father owned was destroyed, as were their homes.

Warr and his city staff met in the largely undamaged City Hall on Tuesday morning to choose locations for distribution points for the aid they expect to come in. He said he expected it to begin arriving early today.

"We understand the military trying to reach us was bogged down on U.S. 49," Warr said, referring to the main north-south highway into Gulfport. "I was told there were more than 100 big pines across the road in a two-mile stretch in the DeSoto (National) Forest."

City officials said they could not immediately re-establish water or sewer services. All land phone lines and most cell phone communications were out of service, they said, and crews were trying to repair a major gas leak downtown.

Tons of chicken parts, which had been stored for shipping in the port area, ended up scattered across dozens of blocks west of the city.

"That's going to become a biohazard in no time," said Sullivan, the fire chief. "We'll need fast help with that, too."

Police Chief Steve Barnes said there was an immediate need for portable toilets. "There's not one left standing along the whole (Mississippi) coast," he said.

Katrina's destruction was so widespread, Barnes said, that "all the emergency resources we need are being stretched."

Marine life facility gone

After several drug and grocery stores opened late in the day, lines quickly formed and parking lots filled. Some residents, including 67-year-old Norman Vancourt, said they were planning to leave the coast until basic services are restored. "I'll go as far north as it takes to get a hot cup of coffee," he said.

His house in Long Beach, a town of about 17,000 just west of Gulfport, was demolished. "In a storm like this, you don't even board it up," he said.

Six bottlenose dolphins from Marine Life Oceanarium that rode out the storm in two motel pools will leave town soon, too.

"We were totally destroyed," said Moby Solangi, the aquarium's president. "We're planning to put them in another facility until we can rebuild."

Three of Solangi's sea lions that ended up in neighborhoods were recovered alive, he said.

"The birds and fish, they're free now," Solangi said, describing how the storm crushed several 30-foot-tall tanks.

thomas.korosec@chron.com

[McGavin999]

I think we have become such a protected society that people really do not believe they can die. Some seem to have lost the concept of danger.

[keats5]

How can only hundreds be dead?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Citizen Journalists***(Editor's note: We can only imagine the turmoil facing people in the hardest hit areas of Hurricane Katrina, and for those concerned about the safety of loved ones in those areas. Our sister station, WLOX, in Biloxi, Mississippi, has set up a simple blog, an electronic bulletin board, for people to exchange information on this historic storm.)***

[angcat]

Please keep me posted.

Thank you

[McGavin999]

That's pretty disgusting. Hasn't anyone figured out yet that the liberal media is probably the most bigoted anywhere? Looting is some guy running down the street with a plasma TV, or fur coats and jewelry. Survial goods in a disaster are not looting.

[American in Israel]

Orlando Salinas of FNC reported on that yesterday and he said the stench was becoming unbearable, compounded by the August heat and humidity.

I hate to say it but the stench is not so much chicken parts but long pig.

[McGavin999]

Meanwhile, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter have made arrangements to tour the afflicted areas. Foreign aide is pouring in, with France leading the EU with its massive donations of manpower and equipment.

Will you guys please get off of that? You sound like a bunch of panhandlers begging for coin. We already know what the world reaction will be, you don't have to keep pointing it out, in the mean time it sounds like you have your hand out asking for alms.

[McGavin999]

The boy who cried wolf comes to mind. If they didn't say exactly the same thing for every hurricane that comes along, then maybe they'd have more credibility when they're correct for once.

How much does it cost if they are wrong? A tank of gas and a hotel room? How much does it cost to bury your dead?

[vikk]

That's just so screwed up.

[Zechariah_8_13]

They are stealing liquor, drugs, televisions, jewelry & fur coats. The shelves are left full of food.

As far as being a "rich" country, does that mean you're okay letting other people steal the things you have worked hard to afford? Is that alright by you?

[LaineyDee]

OMG...... I've been trying to reach a dear friend that lives in Moss Point and of course all phones are down. The photo here just made my heart sink. All I can do is pray. :(

[mother22wife21]

A righteous bump

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Here's some more on Moss Point Post #14.

[Marysecretary]

Uh, yuh, sure. I knew they would (snicker).

[Leg Olam]

Keep an eye on 'Irene'. Two possible new storms are forming in mid-Atlantic. The southern of the two is the biggest and might make a Gulf track if inland air pressure zones enable it. See map at.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/0.shtml?basin

Another one even half as bad as Katrina would be a kill-shot.

[Marysecretary]

We'll have to! Europe, Canada and Mexico etc. will send condolences and damn little else. (I hope I'm wrong!)

[Marysecretary]

Operation Blessing is also a good one. They always send in truckloads of relief and work with the Salvation Army. I sent my check to them.

[AliVeritas]

Search and Rescue and Current Needs: http://www.mirawebdesign.com/katrina.html


FLOOD AID UPDATE: Here are some places you can donate to hurricane Katrina relief: (Bumped to top -- scroll down for current posts.)

http://www.redcross.org/

Catholic Charities: http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/news/katrina.cfm
is involved, and probably has lots of resources to draw on in the heavily Catholic New Orleans area.

Austin Bay is recommending Episcopal Relief and Development.http://www.er-d.org/

Liz at Rightalk suggests that animal lovers donate to the
https://secure.hsus.org/01/disaster_relief_fund_2005?

Here's a link to Mennonite Disaster Services http://www.mds.mennonite.net/. The Sanity Inspector says they're highly efficient.

Reader Peter Viditto recommends The Mercy Corps
http://www.mercycorps.org/

Here's the link for Methodist Relief http://www.methodistrelief.org/site/pp.asp?c=bhKNI4PHIpE&b=876335.

The Salvation Army http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/ does good work. (WalMart just gave them a million dollars, but that's just the barest beginning of what's needed.)

Hugh Hewitt recommends Samaritan's Purse http://www.samaritanspurse.com/

Scott Ott recommends Southern Baptist Disaster Relief http://www.namb.net/site/c.9qKILUOzEpH/b.224451/k.7BDB/Disaster_Relief_Homepage.htm

Jay Allen has a further suggestion:


I would suggest people donate through their companies whenever possible. Most major corporations offer matching funds to the dollar for charitable donations. Find who's collecting money for relief efforts, then file for a match through your employer instead of sending to the agency directly.


Not bad -- if your employer is supporting this.

Chuck Simmins is tracking corporate donations http://blog.simmins.org/2005/08/katrina-donations-begin.html


UPDATE: The plan for tomorrow's flood-aid blogburst: I'd like each blogger participating to put up a post recommending a charity, or other action to help, and linking back to this post where I'll keep a comprehensive list of both bloggers and charities. Basically, a Carnival of Hurricane Relief. That way readers of any blog will have ready access to recommendations on all the blogs. If anyone has a better idea, let me know.

Technorati Tags: flood aid, Hurricane Katrina
http://technorati.com/tag/flood%20aid
http://technorati.com/tag/hurricane+katrina

THE MUDVILLE GAZETTE has a massive roundup on the military response to Katrina, which is quite extensive
http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/003462.html


Courtesy of Hewitt at http://instapundit.com/

Also Craigslist has lost and found list for family members and those who can help in any way:
http://neworleans.craigslist.org/laf/

Search and Rescue and current needs: http://www.mirawebdesign.com/katrina.html

[mark502inf]

"We begged, we pleaded, we demanded. We told them they had a good chance of dying if they didn't leave. But there's only so much government can do to protect people," Sullivan said. "Too many people tried to ride it out. We can't regulate good sense."

[Marysecretary]

That's a good idea. We've been doing that with friends for a few years. We usually give to the Rescue Mission or a charity of their choice. We all decided we have too much stuff!