NEW ORLEANS, 1 September 2005 — The mayor said yesterday that Katrina probably killed thousands of people in New Orleans — an estimate that, if accurate, would make the storm by far the nation’s deadliest hurricane in more than a century.
“We know there is a significant number of dead bodies in the water,” and other people dead in attics, Mayor Ray Nagin said. Asked how many, he said: “Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands.”
The frightening estimate came as army engineers struggled to plug New Orleans’ breached levees with giant sandbags and concrete barriers, while authorities drew up plans to clear out the tens of thousands of people left in the Big Easy and all but abandon the flooded-out city.
There will be a “total evacuation of the city. We have to. The city will not be functional for two or three months,” Nagin said.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the situation was desperate and there was no choice but to clear out.
“The logistical problems are impossible and we have to evacuate people in shelters,” the governor said. “It’s becoming untenable. There’s no power. It’s getting more difficult to get food and water supplies in, just basic essentials.”
Saudi Arabia yesterday offered all-out support to the United States to reduce the impact of the devastating hurricane.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah telephoned US President George W. Bush to express the Kingdom’s condolences on the loss of lives.
“King Abdullah also voiced Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with the US at this calamity and offered all possible help in order to reduce the effect of the disaster,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
Bush thanked the king for his humanitarian gesture and said the US appreciated the noble Saudi stand.
The two leaders also discussed major issues including Middle East peace.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, began mounting one of the largest search-and-rescue operations in US history, sending four navy ships to the Gulf Coast with drinking water and other emergency supplies, along with the hospital ship USNS Comfort, search helicopters and elite SEAL water-rescue teams.
American Red Cross workers from across the country converged on the devastated region in the agency’s biggest-ever relief operation.
