And that's total BS on the part of the "officials". During the tsunami we received a running estimate of the death toll: 20,000 - 50,000 - 85,000 - 110,000 - and finally 250,000, which helped to bring home the true scale of the disaster. There are still a lot of Americans who think: Katrina weakened before landfall - New Orleans "dodged a bullet", though there is a lot of water in the suburbs - some place in Mississippi got hit, too - but only about 110 people are dead.
Tell the truth. Always. The government and the media don't help matters when they treat the public like children that need to be sheltered from bad news. In the case of the media, it's partly understandable - an accurate death toll estimate might shock the nation into wondering why they are wasting so much time bashing Bush.
I agree. The rest of the nation needs to know the truth.
Good thing we have the internet to get a more accurate description of the situation.
Their are still many people in harms way. The aftermath is in many ways more difficult then the hurricane for some. We should not demoralize the rescue effort right now. The number will come out. It wont be accurate because some people will end up as missing forever. Some people were not even known (illegals, unregistered poor). Right now the morale of rescue workers is the most important factor. Perhaps we need to be patient and give it time. In the case of the Tsunami, it was a week before some towns were even discovered completely missing. No need for rescue teams when the entire town is gone.
I talked to my sister-in-law this morning. Their small town has NO GAS. The Piggly-Wiggly has no power, and that means no milk, eggs, bread, and a lot of other things are available. She lives about 30 minutes south of Jackson. If conditions are the way they are there, then they only get worse the further south you drive. Add to these conditions a whole lot of displaced residents of the Coast and Louisiana, and you have a whole lot of people who are unhappy, hungry, thirsty, etc. Imagine if the government starts talking about all the dead people and missing people. Imagine lots of traffic into the area and NO WAY OUT BECAUSE THERE IS NO GAS. There is no gas. Delivery trucks can get in but not back out. It is a nightmare.
Sister-in-law also was advised not to take a planned trip to Florida because the roads in Mississippi AND ALABAMA are unsafe. Forget the problems with gas. The roads are unsafe because thugs are shooting people in their cars. This is according to my sister-in-law's sister's brother-in-laws, who are in the National Guard and working on the Coast. (I had to put the familial relations in that sentence. It's just so Mississippi.) Things are much worse than the media is reporting or maybe even knows.