Katrina - Human Suffering and Death

Aug. 29: A New Orleans man awaits rescue from high waters caused by Hurricane Katrina. (Photo: AP)

Michelle Malkin has a roundup of Katrina news. It basically looks really bad in terms of deaths, as well as deteriorating conditions for the survivors. It sure makes you want to plan and think about possible disasters and chaos in your area and your life situation.

KATRINA: DEATH TOLL RISES

By Michelle Malkin · August 30, 2005 04:52 PM

Reuters is reporting that hundreds are feared dead in Biloxi, Miss. Cadaver dogs are being brought in to locate the corpses.

According to Allahpundit, CNN is reporting that officials in Biloxi are spraypainting roofs black if there are corpses inside and red if there are injured inside.

Meanwhile, conditions in New Orleans continue to worsen. "We're not even dealing with dead bodies," Mayor Ray Nagin said. "They're just pushing them on the side."

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One of Brendan Loy's readers says the Mississippi coastline is "gone."

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Looting in New Orleans is taking place in view of the police and National Guard troops, AP reports:

Looters filled industrial-sized garbage cans with clothing and jewelry and floated them down the street on bits of plywood and insulation as National Guard lumbered by.

Mike Franklin stood on the trolley tracks and watched the spectacle unfold.

"To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it's an opportunity to get back at society," he said.

A man walked down Canal Street with a pallet of food on his head. His wife, who refused to give her name, insisted they weren't stealing from the nearby Winn-Dixie supermarket. "It's about survival right now," she said as she held a plastic bag full of purloined items. "We got to feed our children. I've got eight grandchildren to feed...."

The looting was taking place in full view of passing National Guard trucks and police cruisers.

One man with an armload of clothes even asked a policeman, "can I borrow your car?"

Some in the crowd splashed into the waist-deep water like giddy children at the beach.

John Hawkins discovers a pro-looting thread at Democratic Underground.

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WWLTV: "With conditions in the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans rapidly deteriorating, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Tuesday that people now huddled in the Superdome and other rescue centers need to be evacuated."