VESTIGES OF KATRINA The eerie markings depicted in figures 31, 32, and 33 were made by the National Guard and special military units from Louisiana and other states while inspecting homes for survivors. The crews spray painted each house, leaving a permanent record to communicate their findings. They painted an “X” on the front of each home: the upper quadrant indicated the date; the left quadrant recorded the agency (“FL-1” for the first Florida team), or simply the searcher’s initials; the right quadrant was used for houses that were not entered (“NE” for No Entry) or other comments about the conditions found; and in the lower quadrant, the number of dead bodies found inside.47 DEATH TOLL In spite of search and rescue efforts, the precise death toll from Hurricane Katrina is still not known. Jed Horne, in his book Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City, comments on the accepted death toll in May 2006:
toll at about 1,100, with another 231 lost in Mississippi. Nor was it clear what proportion of the casualties died immediately, leaving the rest to a lingering demise — by drowning, from exposure, from medical conditions that worsened lethally as men, women, and children attempted to wade or swim to dry ground, perched on rooftops awaiting help that never came, or succumbed to infernal temperatures and dehydration in attics where the floods had chased them.48 According to Allison Plyer, Chief Demographer at the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (GNOCDC), as of April 15, 2010, “Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures resulted in the deaths of at least 1,464 Louisiana residents. The major causes of death include: drowning (40%), injury and trauma (25%), and heart conditions (11%). Nearly half of all victims were over the age of 74.”49 Ezra Boyd, PhD candidate at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Department of Geography and Graduate Research Assistant at the LSU Hurricane Public Health Center, confirms approximately 1,500 Louisiana residents died due to Hurricane Katrina and levee failures.50
It would never be known exactly how many people died. The best estimate placed the
fig. 32: Diagram of markings made by National Guard
43
fig. 33: Markings made by National Guard on Homes