Posted on 09/06/2005 2:33:59 AM PDT by BillCompton
I have not seen any video of structures reduced to match sticks in the city of New Orleans. There was damage, to be sure, but not like the environs east of there. So how did the supposed 10,000 die? Storm runoff from the 5 inches of rain or so, no doubt flooded parts of the city. But I doubt that killed anyone. Wind might have killed a handfull, though normally it does not kill many at all. Hurricane Andrew blew down many thousands of homes, but only killed a total of 26 people. So we are left with the flood to kill all the 10,000 people.
The breach of the levees happened slowly and long after the winds had subsided. It might be true that in the few hundred yards around the breach itself, a strong current probably existed. Perhaps people were swept to their deaths in the areas immediately proximate to the breach. But the people were supposed to be gone, and many had gone. I am willing to accept that some people directly near the breaches were drowned, but it would not surprise me if that were not the case.
In the rest of the city, the water come up SLOWLY. It took well over a day for the water to come up 10 feet. Now, suppose you have survived the wind storm (as 99.99% surely did) and you notice that the standing water on your street is not going away. A few hours later, it seems to be rising. A few hours later, no doubt about it, the water is rising and it is going to come into the house. Hours later, it is apparent the water is going to keep rising. Who in the world is going to climb into the attic unless you know that you can get out should the water rise higher? This is not a split second decision. This is a decision that had to be at least 12 hours in the making. Even if you climb into the attic, which would be hot as heck, would you sit there hour after hour without the realizing you are slowly becoming trapped? I am not saying it didn't happen once, but I am saying it didn't happen hundreds of times. No. Any ambulatory person would swim or float to someplace they could climb up to. A few healthy people might drown, but not many at all. Now, there were, no doubt, helpless people (elderly primarily) who probably did drown simply because they were too feeble to swim to safety. This, I believe, will account for the largest number of deaths.
It is also probable that some people died from violence. I know a policeman was shot, but was alive the last I saw. I am sure a few people have been killed, but I don't recall seeing any confirmed reports of it. I have also seen reports of people in the hospitals dying. Likewise, dozens have died from exposure to the heat, mostly the very young or the very old.
Also, I am sure that a very few may die of thirst.
Last I heard, there were 56 confirmed dead. The Mayor is hysterically predicting there will be 10,000, which is repeated over and over in the media, so that is the number that people are using to evaluate the current situation in New Orleans. My prediction is that a total of less that 250 will have died in New Orleans. And of all the coastal areas affected by the hurricane winds and tidal surge, New Orleans will be the place of fewest casualties.
The last numbers of confirmed dead was on thew AP sunday and it was about 350 total.
Albert Wang puts the total combined count at 750. This is still a tragedy, as everyone of those 750 people will be mourned and missed by their loved ones, however, it is a far cry from the 10,000 to 50,000 numbers now in play.
For comparison, note that the flood created in 1938 in China to stop the invading Japanese army killed 600,000-900,000 people.
Vitter also rushed out on Day 1 and gave the President an 'F' for his response to the disaster.
Blanco on Fox right now, fogging. Doesn't answer direct questions, but oh, she went to NO on Sat. am, the first gov. ever to go to NO, stood by Nagin and they begged people to leave. Blah, blah, blah.
Have you missed the articles where folks talk about the bodies being tied to trees or light poles to keep them from floating away? Or the eyewitness statements of "bodies everywhere"? A woman I work with has a nephew in the Coast Guard and that has been his statement since he got there, bodies everywhere.
I just seems that the press would say "where?" and then go shoot them. I am not saying the pictures don't exist, but I just haven't seen them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4218160.stm
It seems they are reporting in now, the number missing is now 96, down from 131 earlier today.
So perhaps there is hope after all :)
People dumb enough to stay in their homes below sea level with a Cat 5 approaching?
Oh... MSM?
I wonder if 100,000 stayed in Orleans Parish if 10% of them died? I doubt it and that is what it would take to get to 10,000 dead.
I'll bet you anyone in NOLA with a lot of debt will be listed as "dead."
That's just it. We haven't seen the photos, would you want to? They stopped showing the bodies/people falling out of the trade center, just maybe they have the decency to not show the bodies floating in the water.
Nope. I don't think 10,000 will be too high at all. Nagins has information that we don't, as well.
At the suggestion of writer Michelle Malkin last Friday, I have cobbled together a blogsite called Texas Clearinghouse for Katrina Aid to serve as a clearinghouse for refugee efforts in Texas.
Texas is getting more refugees than any other state -- that's fine, we'll take them all -- but we need help providing them with food, clothing, and shelter.
If you are a refugee, you can information that will help you find relief. If you want to donate or volunteer, you can find someone who needs you.
Right now the site mostly covers Houston and Dallas but I will add various churches, schools, and other charities in San Antonio and Ft. Worth tonight. My wife is down at Reunion Arena in Dallas as we speak handing out care packages and otherwise ministering to the refugees as a representative of her employer.
There are a lot of churches and other organizations in Texas that need help in dealing with the problem and I would be most appreciative if you would get the word out.
Many thanks,
Michael McCullough
Stingray blogsite
71 dead.
then the 100s killed by looters, and looters shot.
'If they use the voter registration rolls to determine the missing persons, there were 100,000 people missing from NO before the storm...'
hehheh............!
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