Everyone is ignoring the obvious - bodies would have been washed out to sea!

[fed_up_mother]

This isn't New Orleans - where the bodies basically floated in a giant fish bowl.

We heard over and over about how many people stayed behind, but now - what - almost no dead?

First off, I'd like to say that most people DID have time to evacuate, but CHOSE not to. However, I'm sure there were several people who did not get the help they needed to evacuate because of their ill health or dire financial circumstances. Many of these low lying areas are poor - not filled with wealthy beachhouse owners.

I haven't heard ONE word about this, and I've been listening to television simulcasts on the radio for days.

[DS1]

1. Yep

They should be washing ashore somewhere any day now.

[ananda]

2. Missing

I read one post here a day or two ago about
air reconnaissance and rescuers seeing 900
bodies or so in the water near Bolivar.. saying
that no news outlets or reporters were being
allowed near or given the info to report.

I also followed a link posted here yesterday
where people could post their missing friends
and relatives.. and there were many.

So... is it that FEMA and Homeland Security
don't want us to know what's really happening?

I know what I think.

[Lex]

3. And then they would wash right back up to the shore.

Read about Galveston's hurricane in 1900.

They tried to haul the bodies out to sea and give them a burial at sea (there were thousands dead).

The bodies washed right back up onto the shore.

[Vincardog]

10. They did not know the basics of burial at sea. You have to pierce the body repeatedly to ensure it

does not bloat and float

[stopbush]

4. IIRC, the 1900 Gavelston hurricane killed over 8,000 people.

The dead bodies were dumped at sea, only to wash up on Gavelston's shores a few days later.

Just check Wikipedia which confirms this story.

[Lex]

5. Yes, you're right about the bodies. "Isaac's Storm" is a great read.

I read it a couple of years ago, right around the time that Katrina hit NOLA.

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/isaacsstorm/

[fed_up_mother]

6. Which is why the door to door search for bodies the other day was meaningless

Sure, they did find live victims and delivered them to safety, but the media acted as if that was it. "Whew. We dodged a bullet. Very few dead."

It's all I hear from people everywhere I go.

[XemaSab]

9. That plus how much searching have they done of totally collapsed houses?

I'm figuring the "searching" that's been done is for survivors, not bodies.

There will be time fore that later. :(

[Brotherjohn]

7. The storm surge was not nearly as great as feared. Few houses in Galveston...

... were flooded past the roof line. The people who stayed had the luxury of moving UP, whereas the people of NOLA did not. But even the one story houses were not totally under water.

The pictures you see of flattened neighborhoods right ON the beach.. I guarantee you those houses were generally uninhabited. For starters, the vast majority of them are rentals or vacation homes. But the people who own those homes are not stupid. They would not have stayed. Most Galveston home are not ON the beach.

Think about it: Jim Cantore and others were right on the waterfront when the eye hit. The seawall was not even overtopped. There was some water, but not enough to drown anyone even in a one story house. Those who stayed got wet, and stranded, yes. But they did not drown.

If the storm surge HAD been 20-25 feet, perhaps there would have been mass mortality. Thankfully, it was not.

[ColbertWatcher]

8. Or, they all were reanimated by the biolab in Galveston.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4008995&mesg_id=4008995