Tuesday, October 04, 2005
9.6% correct
The search for Katrina victims ended in Louisiana with a death toll at 964, substantially less than the 10,000 victims some officials feared.
In honor of Mayor Nagin, I think that we should divide all estimates by 9.6%. For example, "it wouldn't be unreasonable" for the Iowa Hawkeyes to win 83 (8/0.096) games this football season.
6 Comments:
By 
ScurvyOaks, at
Tue Oct 04, 02:40:00 PM:
It's even worse than 9.6%. The mayor's estimate was 10,000 dead in New Orleans. The 964 is for all of Louisiana. Does anyone know how the 964 breaks down between NOLA and the rest of the state?
By Sotosoroto, at
Tue Oct 04, 02:56:00 PM:
83 wins? Wow, they might even get into a bowl game!
By Gordon Smith, at
Tue Oct 04, 03:52:00 PM:
The actual death toll is hard to know. People who were evacuated to areas without proper medical services or supplies and then died are not part of the official body count. The actual death toll may ultimately be unknowable.
No matter. George W. Bush's evisceration of FEMA and his willingness to appoint an incompetent to lead the agency leave him responsible for the slow response and ongoing ineffectiveness of FEMA.
By Gordon Smith, at
Tue Oct 04, 11:25:00 PM:
The press was inaccurate in much of their reporting, but at least they showed up. Reporters were all over the affected region days before our tax dollars in the form of the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived.
Thanks for mentionion that FEMA's response could have been better. I guess you mean that fewer people might have died had they fulfilled their stated duties.
When the press made mistakes (excluding their abysmal reportage on the Iraq War run-up), nobody died. Let's keep our priorities straight.
By 
, at
Wed Oct 05, 12:06:00 PM:
I'm not so sure that the extreme exaggeration of the death toll didn't contribute some part to tragedy. The press has a capability to create hysteria that can be matched by few other institutions, and hysteria in disasters causes big problems.
By Gordon Smith, at
Wed Oct 05, 12:38:00 PM:
The press inaccuracy had very little effect on those who couldn't watch it due to power outages or evacuation. I could see that the press coverage may have had an effect on the FEMA coverage. That is, when confronted by a horrific event, people need somewhere to place those feelings of anger, confusion, and fear. FEMA's irrepsonsible response provided an easy outlet for people's emotions.
