lornajarrettblanchard

–~1,900  Katrina Connection. “Lest We Forget: Where have all the missing gone?” 8-29-2008.[2]

—  1,836  Burt and Stroud. Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book. 2007, p. 205.

—  1,836  DoSomething.org. “11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina.” No date.[3]

—>1,836  Gautam et al. “Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Incidence of…” Oct 2009, p. 144.[4]

—  1,836  Wikipedia. “Hurricane Katrina Effects by Region.”[5]

—  1,836  Zimmermann. “Hurricane Katrina: Facts, Damage…” LiveScience. 8-20-2012.[6]

—  1,833  Bedient and Sebastian. “An Introduction to Gulf Coast Severe Storms…” 2012, p. 8.

—  1,833  Beven, et al. Annual Summary: Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005. March, 2008, 1140

—  1,833  Blanchard tally from State and locality breakouts below.

–>1,833  Curtis (Ed.). Hurricane Katrina Damage Assessment. ASCE, 2007.  iii

—  1,833  Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, 11.[7]

–~1,833  NCDC, NOAA. Billion-Dollar Weather/Climate Disasters. July 2008.

—  1,833  (Confirmed). Wikipedia. “Hurricane Katrina.” 2-1-2014 modification.[8]

–>1,800  Discovery.com. “Isaac vs. Katrina: How Do They Compare?” 8-28-2012.[9]

–>1,800  Lansford, et al. Fostering Community Resilience: Homeland Security…” 2010, p. 25

–>1,800  Webley and Holmes (USGS). “Top 10 Historic U.S. Floods.” Time. 5-11-2011.

—  1,723  Lindsay, Robert. “Final Katrina Death Toll at 4,081,” Beyond Highbrow, 5-30-2009.[10]

–>1,700  FEMA. Mitigation Assess. Team Report: Hurricane Katrina… Gulf Coast. 2006. 1-4.

–>1,600  Evans and Bohrer. “Promises: Obama Wins Praise for Katrina. AP, Aug 27, 2009.

–<1,600  GAO 2008. Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina EM Reform Act of 2006

–~1,570  Kates, et al., “Reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina…” 2006.

–~1,500  (Direct deaths). Beven, et al. Annual Summary: Atlantic Hurricane…2005. 2008, 1109.

–~1,500  Blake, et al. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense US Cyclones…, April 2007.

—  1,500  Jervis, Rick. “43 Katrina Victims Still a Mystery,” USA Today, January 21, 2009.

–~1,500  (Direct)  Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—  1,500  National Hurricane Center, Tropical Weather Summary – 2005 Web Final, 2007.

—  1,330  Gunn. Encyclopedia of Disasters:  Environmental Catastrophes… (V2). 2007, p. 694.

—  1,330  Townsend. The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. 2-23-2006.[11]

–~1,200  National Hurricane Center, NWS. Hurricanes in History. “Hurricane Katrina 2005.”

—  1,132  Heidorn, Keith C. Weather Events. “Louisiana’s Great Hurricane of 1722.” 10-1-2005.

—  1,123  Nat. Hurricane Center. Hurricane Katrina & The Gulf Coast. Accessed 6-6-2013.[12]

–~1,100  Direct. Rappaport. “Fatalities in the [US] from Atlantic tropical cyclones…” 2013, 5.[13]

—  1,079  Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “A gruesome find.” 9-24-2005.

—  1,033  CNN. “Katrina’s official death toll tops 1,000.” 9-21-2005.

–>1,011  Heirdorn, Keith (The Weather Doctor). Weather Almanac for October 2005. 10-1-2005.

—     800  Epic Disasters.  The Ten Deadliest US Hurricanes.

 

Fatality Breakout by States

 

Alabama         (              2)

—    2  Beven, et al. Annual Summary: Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005. March, 2008, 1140.

—    2  Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “A gruesome find.” 9-24-2005.

—    2  Car accident. Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—    2  National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Katrina & The Gulf Coast. Accessed 6-6-2013.

 

Florida            (            14)

—  14  Beven, et al. Annual Summary: Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005. March, 2008, 1140.

—  14  Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “A gruesome find.” 9-24-2005.

—  14  Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—  14  National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Katrina & The Gulf Coast. Accessed 6-6-2013.

—  14  Nelson, et al. “Mortality Associated with Hurricane Katrina–Florida…” MMWR, 2006.[14]

–>12  NCDC. Storm Events Database.

—  11  CNN. “Katrina’s official death toll tops 1,000.” 9-21-2005.

—  11  National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Hurricane Katrina. 12-29-2005 update.

—    8  (Indirect deaths). Beven. “Annual Summary…Hurricane Season of 2005.” 2008, 1140.

—    6  (Direct deaths). Beven. “Annual Summary…Hurricane Season of 2005.” 2008, 1140.

—    6  (Direct). Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

 

County Breakouts:    (14)

Broward County         (  6)

— 2  Davie, Broward Co. CO poisoning, generator in home; couple, 43 and 65, before Aug 30.[15]

— 3  Broward County. Downed trees, Knabb, et al. Tropical…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, 11.

— 1  Davie, Broward County. Elderly woman hit by a falling tree.[16]

— 1  Fort Lauderdale. Man, 20s, crushed in his car near a high school by falling tree.[17]

— 1  Plantation, Fort Lauderdale vic., Broward Co. Pedestrian, 54, struck by falling tree.[18]

— 1  Cooper City, Broward County. Vehicular; man, 79, car hits tree.[19]

Holmes County           (  1)

— 1  Holmes County, Ponce de Leon vicinity. Aug 29. Van hydroplanes off I-10 into trees.

Miami-Dade County   (  7)

— 1  Coastal Dade, Aug 25. Boating, male, 45. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.

— 1  Coastal Dade, Aug 25. Boating, male, 61. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.

— 1  Blunt force trauma. Male boater; injuries sustained as storm buffeted his boat.[20]

— 1  Miami-Dade Co., Drowning; male boater when his houseboat capsized.[21]

 

— 1  Miami-Dade Co., Florida City. Drowning; man, 49 “found floating…in his front yard.”[22]

— 1  Coastal Dade. “In Water,” male, 49. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.

— 1  Plantation, Fort Lauderdale vic., Broward Co. Pedestrian, 54, struck by falling tree.[23]

— 1  Coastal Dade. “Outside/Open Areas,” male, 54. NCDC. Storm Events Database.

— 1  Coastal Dade. “Outside/Open Areas,” female, 69. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.

— 1  Coastal Dade. Vehicle, male, 25. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.

— 1  Miami-Dade Co., northwest. Suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, man, 27.[24]

— 2? Walton County. Vehicle accident, associated with 2^nd landfall weather conditions.[25]

— 2? Vehicle accident, Walton Co. Wikipedia. “Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Florida.”[26]

 

Florida Cause of Death Breakout:  (15)

— 1  Blunt force trauma. Miami-Dade Co., male boater, injuries from storm buffeting his boat.[27]

— 4  Carbon monoxide poisoning. Blanchard tally from breakouts below.

— 3  Carbon monoxide poisoning caused by generators. NCDC, Storm Events Database.

— 2  Nelson, et al. “Mortality Associated with Hurricane Katrina…” MMWR, 2006.[28]

— 2  Davie, Broward Co. CO poison, home generator; couple, 43 and 65, before Aug 30[29]

— 1  Pensacola, Escambia County, found Sep 2. CO poisoning; Kai Paul Perry, 49.[30]

— 1  Miami-Dade Co., northwest. Suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, man, 27.[31]

— 1  Debris cleanup. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.

— 2  Drownings. Blanchard estimate.[32]

— 3  Drownings, Miami-Dade Co. Knabb. Tropical…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, 11.[33]

— 3  Drownings. Nelson. “Mortality Associated with Hurricane Katrina–Florida…” 2006.[34]

— 1  Miami-Dade Co., Drowning; male boater when his houseboat capsized.[35]

— 1  Miami-Dade Co., Florida City. Drowning; man “found floating…in his front yard.”[36]

— 1  Fall from ladder. Nelson. “Mortality Associated with…Katrina–Florida…” 2006.[37]

— 1  Lack of electricity related. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.

— 3  Tree Falls. Blanchard tally based on locality breakouts below – all in Broward County.

— 4? Tree Falls. Nelson, et al. “Mortality Associated with Hurricane Katrina–Florida…” 2006.[38]

— 3  Tree Falls, Broward County. Knabb, et al. Tropical…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, 11.

— 1  Davie, Broward County. Elderly woman hit by a falling tree.[39]

— 1  Fort Lauderdale, Broward County. Man, 20s, crushed in his car by falling tree.[40]

— 1  Plantation, Fort Lauderdale vic., Broward Co. Pedestrian, 54, struck by falling tree.[41]

— 3  Vehicular accidents. Blanchard tally of Holmes and Broward County road accidents.[42]

— 1  Vehicle accident. NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database.[43]

— 2? Walton County. Vehicle accident, associated with 2^nd landfall weather conditions.[44]

— 2? Vehicle accident, Walton Co. Wikipedia. “Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Florida.”[45]

— 2  Vehicular. Ponce de Leon vic., Holmes Co., I-10, Aug 29, van hydroplanes into trees.[46]

— 1  Cooper City, Broward County. Vehicular; man, 79, car hits tree.[47]

— 1  Undetermined. Nelson, et al. “Mortality Associated with Hurricane Katrina…” 2006.[48]

 

Georgia          (              2)

—    2  Beven, et al. Annual Summary: Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005. March, 2008, 1140.[49]

—    2  Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “A gruesome find.” 9-24-2005.

—    2  Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—    2  National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Katrina & The Gulf Coast. Accessed 6-6-2013.

—    1  Car accident. Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—    1  Tornado. Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

 

Kentucky       (              ?)

—     1  Flooding. Wikipedia. “Hurricane Katrina Effects by Region.” 2-11-2014 modification.[50]

 

Louisiana       (        1,577)

—  1,577  Beven, et al. Annual Summary: Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005. March, 2008, 1140

—  1,577  DoSomething.org. “11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina.” No date.[51]

—  1,577  Gautam et al. “Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Incidence of…” Oct 2009, p. 144.[52]

—  1,577  Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—  1,577  Wikipedia.  “Hurricane Katrina Effects by Region.” 2-11-2014 modification.[53]

–~1,500  Boyd. Preliminary…Report of Hurricane Katrina Deceased… 10-13-2006, 1.[54]

–>1,500  FEMA.  Mitigation Assess. Team Rpt.: Hurricane Katrina… Gulf Coast. 2006. 1-4.

—  1,464  Boyd. Preliminary…Report of Hurricane Katrina Deceased… 10-13-2006, p. 2.[55]

—  1,464  Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Hurricane Katrina. 8-2-2006.

—  1,464  Olsen, L. “5 years after Katrina…death toll…mystery.” Houston Chronicle, 8-30-2010

–~1,300  (Direct deaths). Beven. “Annual Summary…Hurricane Season of 2005.” 2008, 1140.

–~1,300  (Direct). Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—  1,100  Jonkman, et al.  “Loss of Life Caused by Flooding…” Risk Analysis, 2009.

—  1,077  National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Katrina & The Gulf Coast. Accessed 6-6-2013.

—     971  Brunkard, et al. “Hurricane Katrina deaths, Louisiana, 2005.” Dis. Med. 2008, 215-23.

—     841  Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “A gruesome find.” 9-24-2005.

—     799  CNN. “Katrina’s official death toll tops 1,000.” 9-21-2005.

—   ~277  Indirect deaths. Beven. “Annual Summary…Hurricane Season of 2005.” 2008, 1140.

—         5  CO poisoning. Hampson/Stock. “Storm-related Carbon Monoxide Poisoning…” p. 261.[56]

 

New Orleans: (1,300-1,400)

—  1,400  Schleifstein. “Study of Hurricane Katrina’s Dead…” Times-Picayune, 27 Aug 2009.

–>1,300  Gunn. Encyclopedia of Disasters: Environmental Catastrophes… (V2). 2007, p.687.[57]

—   >100  Hospitals and nursing home. Fink. “The New Katrina Flood…” NYT, 1-1-2010.

—         1  Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hosp. Life-support machine power loss, female, 73.[58]

 

Mississippi      (           238)

—  238  Beven, et al. Annual Summary: Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005. March, 2008, 1140.

—  238  DoSomething.org. “11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina.” No date.[59]

—  238  Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—  238  Wikipedia. “Hurricane Katrina Effects by Region.”

–>235  Wikipedia. “Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.” 2-19-2014 modification.[60]

—  230  FEMA.  Mitigation Assess. Team Rpt.: Hurricane Katrina… Gulf Coast. 2006. 1-4.

—  228  National Hurricane Center. Hurricane Katrina & The Gulf Coast. Accessed 6-6-2013.

—  220  Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “Rita evacuees die in Miss. Crash.” 9-24-2005.

—  219  CNN. “Katrina’s official death toll tops 1,000.” 9-21-2005.

–~200  (Direct deaths). Beven. “Annual Summary…Hurricane Season of 2005.” 2008, 1140.

–~200  (Direct)  Knabb, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report…Katrina…. 9-14-2011 update, p. 11.

—  200  (Direct deaths). National Hurricane Center.  Hurricane History, Katrina.

—  126  Korosec, Thomas. “Coastal Crises; 126 dead….” Houston Chronicle, 9-1-2005.

—  ~38  (Indirect deaths). Beven. “Annual Summary…Hurricane Season of 2005.” 2008, 1140.

 

Mississippi County and Locality Breakouts:

—>100  Harrison Co. USA Today. “New Orleans outlook bleak; 100 dead in Miss.” 8-30-2005.[61]

>30  Biloxi, Quiet Water Beach apartments. Copeland and Parker. USA Today, 8-31-2005.

—  >10  Jackson Co. USA Today. “New Orleans outlook bleak; 100 dead in Miss.” 8-30-2005.[62]

—      1  Gulfport, Harrison County, body found Sep 22. Drowning, woman.[63]

 

Ohio                (              ?)

— 2  Monroeville vic. Automobile accident. Wikipedia. “Hurricane Katrina…by Region.”[64]

 

General Narrative

 

Brunkard, et al.: “….  We assessed Hurricane Katrina mortality data sources received in 2007, including Louisiana and out-of-state death certificates for deaths occurring from August 27 to October 31, 2005, and the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team’s confirmed victims’ database. We calculated age-, race-, and sex-specific mortality rates for Orleans, St Bernard, and Jefferson Parishes, where 95% of Katrina victims resided and conducted stratified analyses by parish of residence to compare differences between observed proportions of victim demographic characteristics and expected values based on 2000 US Census data, using Pearson chi square and Fisher exact tests.

 

“Results: We identified 971 Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana and 15 deaths among Katrina evacuees in other states. Drowning (40%), injury and trauma (25%), and heart conditions (11%) were the major causes of death among Louisiana victims. Forty-nine percent of victims were people 75 years old and older. Fifty-three percent of victims were men; 51% were black; and 42% were white. In Orleans Parish, the mortality rate among blacks was 1.7 to 4 times higher than that among whites for all people 18 years old and older. People 75 years old and older were significantly more likely to be storm victims (P < .0001).

 

“Conclusions: Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest hurricane to strike the US Gulf Coast since 1928. Drowning was the major cause of death and people 75 years old and older were the most affected population cohort. Future disaster preparedness efforts must focus on evacuating and caring for vulnerable populations, including those in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and personal residences. Improving mortality reporting timeliness will enable response teams to provide appropriate interventions to these populations and to prepare and implement preventive measures before the next disaster.” (Brunkard, J., et al. “Hurricane Katrina deaths, Louisiana, 2005.” Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, Vol. 2, No. 4, Dec 2008, 215-223.)

 

Katrina Connection:  “New Orleans (August 29, 2008) — The final death toll from Hurricane Katrina may forever remain unclear, because the trauma of the storm caused many people fatal medical conditions, because so many hurricane victims are still missing, and also because official government and law enforcement counts often have not included many who died after Katrina….

 

“Almost 1900 people are dead or missing from Hurricane Katrina, and all the victims were not in or from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

 

“Most of the 595 people who were still classified as missing a year after Hurricane Katrina were not from New Orleans.  In August, 2006,  the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals (DHH) released a list of 135 people considered missing in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Of those names, 115 were of New Orleans area residents – New Orleans, 96; Jefferson Parish, 8; St. Bernard Parish, 6; Kenner, 1; Slidell, 4. According to state sources, between 4-10 people may have been located since that list was released. Also there were 13 other names of people from unknown municipalities, and one each from Franklinton, New Iberia, Port Sulphur, Port Eads, Lake Charles, Empire, and Morgan City….”  (Katrina Connection. “Lest We Forget: Where Have All the Missing Gone?” 8-29-2008.)

 

National Hurricane Center: “Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters in United States History… producing catastrophic damage and many casualties in the New Orleans area and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast… and additional casualties in Florida…Georgia and Alabama.  Katrina was directly responsible for an estimated 1500 deaths in the United States…making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the Palm Beach-Lake Okeechobee hurricane of September 1928.  Katrina also caused an estimated $81 billion dollars in damage…making it the costliest U.S. hurricane on record….

 

“This disastrous tropical cyclone formed from a tropical wave…becoming a depression about 200 miles southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas on 23 August. It became a tropical storm the following day.  Katrina moved northwestward through the Bahamas…and then turned westward toward south Florida and gradually strengthened.  Katrina became a category one hurricane and made landfall near the Miami-Dade/Broward County line during the evening of 25 August.  Katrina moved southwestward across South Florida…dumping over a foot of rain… toppling trees and power lines…and damaging some homes and businesses.  Katrina also brought heavy rains and sustained tropical storm-force winds to portions of the Florida Keys.  After entering the Gulf of Mexico…Katrina strengthened significantly…reaching category five intensity on 28 August about 250 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.  Later that day… Katrina’s winds reached a peak intensity of 175 mph…. Katrina turned to the northwest and then north…making landfall in Plaquemines Parish Louisiana just south of Buras with estimated 125 mph maximum winds…category three…at 610 am CDT on 29 August.  Continuing northward…Katrina made a second landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi Border at 945 AM CDT…with maximum winds estimated at 120 mph…also category three.

 

“Katrina produced a storm surge of 24-28 ft along the Mississippi coast across a swath about 20 miles wide…with significant surge elsewhere along the Mississippi coast…Alabama coast…and across southeastern Louisiana.  Levees and floodwalls surrounding the New Orleans area were breached and/or overtopped…and about 80 percent of the city flooded.

 

“Katrina weakened as it moved inland to the north-northeast but was still a hurricane about 100 miles inland near Laurel Mississippi.  Katrina continued to weaken and became a tropical depression near Clarksville Tennessee on 30 August.  It became extratropical on 31 August over the Ohio Valley and was absorbed by a frontal system later that day.”  (National Hurricane Center, Tropical Weather Summary – 2005, 2007)

 

Louisiana

 

Jonkman:  “In this article a preliminary analysis of the loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans metropolitan area is presented. The hurricane caused more than 1,100 fatalities in the state of Louisiana. A preliminary data set that gives information on the recovery locations and individual characteristics for 771 fatalities has been analyzed. One-third of the analyzed fatalities occurred outside the flooded areas or in hospitals and shelters in the flooded area. These fatalities were due to the adverse public health situation that developed after the floods. Two-thirds of the analyzed fatalities were most likely associated with the direct physical impacts of the flood and mostly caused by drowning. The majority of victims were elderly: nearly 60% of fatalities were over 65 years old. Similar to historical flood events, mortality rates were highest in areas near severe breaches and in areas with large water depths. An empirical relationship has been derived between the water depth and mortality and this has been compared with similar mortality functions proposed based on data for other flood events. The overall mortality among the exposed population for this event was approximately 1%, which is similar to findings for historical flood events. Despite the fact that the presented results are preliminary they give important insights into the determinants of loss of life and the relationship between mortality and flood characteristics.”  (Jonkman, et al. “Loss of Life Caused by the Flooding of New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina,” Risk Analysis, V. 29, Issue 5, pp. 676-698, 1-31-2009.)

 

Schleifstein: “Four years later, researchers still count New Orleans’ Katrina dead, parsing them into categories, puzzling over exactly how each of the more than 1,400 victims perished — and what might be done to protect them the next time a big one rolls in off the Gulf.  Their findings, though incomplete, jibe with common sense. The dead were overwhelmingly old. Most lived near the levee breaches in the 9th Ward and Lakeview. About two-thirds either drowned or died from illness or injury brought on by being trapped in houses surrounded by water.  The rest died from maladies or injuries suffered in or exacerbated by an arduous evacuation — or an inability to evacuate quickly enough, including many who died in local hospitals that lost power and other life-sustaining services. Neither race nor gender made anyone more likely to die, only a failure to evacuate and a location near a levee breach.”  (Schleifstein, Mark. “Study of Hurricane Katrina’s dead show most were old, lived near levee breaches.” Times-Picayune, New Orleans, 8-27-2009, updated 10-8-2009.)

 

Olsen:  “Even five years after Hurricane Katrina, the names of hundreds of the dead remain a mystery and the death toll is mired in dispute. Of an estimated 1,464 victims officially recognized by the state of Louisiana, more than 500 names have not been publicly released. And Louisiana’s once-ambitious efforts to tackle dozens of related cases of missing persons and unidentified bodies ran out of money in 2006 and has never been revived. “We didn’t complete the mission,” former Acting State Medical Examiner Dr. Lewis Cataldie, a Baton Rouge-based physician who once ran the state’s efforts told the Chronicle this week. “I’m very angry about it.”

 

“DNA, X-rays and other technology mean that identification remains possible years from now if additional remains get found or family members of the missing submit evidence that gets linked to the nameless.  Yet no state or federal agency today keeps track of those who remain missing from Katrina — or have since been confirmed dead. There is no central place for scattered surviving families to call.

 

“In New Orleans, 31 unidentified victims’ bodies were buried in a $1.5 million monument in 2008. None has been identified since then, officials from the New Orleans Coroner’s Office said this week.

 

“John Mutter, a Columbia University professor, has been gathering personal testimonials and public records of those killed in Katrina for an effort he calls Katrinalist. Mutter estimates the true death toll will top 3,500 if those killed by the storm and by its many after-effects are accurately tallied. And yet other counts put the toll at an estimated 1,800….

 

“Hundreds of other victims of the nation’s most deadly modern natural disaster remain anonymous for unknown reasons. Many were elderly and poor. Around 64 percent of the storm victims were older than 65, based on a study by Louisiana State University pathologists who oversaw a massive temporary morgue in Baton Rouge that processed more than 900 cases from 2005-06. Most came from New Orleans Parish.

 

“The dead were racially diverse: 56 percent black; 40 percent white; 4 percent Asian; 4 percent Native American and 2 percent Hispanic.

 

“”We present that a lesson learned is about those left behind due to lack of physical or financial means,” said Dr. Dana Troxclair when the LSU research was presented in August 2007. “Furthermore, based on the remarkable success of the autopsy as a means of human identification, we emphasize its paramount importance as a component of a nation’s response to mass disasters. However, with 135 Louisiana residents still categorized as missing, and 23 (ultimately more) human remains yet to be identified, the final impact of the storm remains uncertain.”  She told the Chronicle this week she has no further information. Similarly, the list of 135 missing persons released by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals in August 2006 has never been updated.

 

“Wayne Filmore, a storm survivor from Metairie and editor of the website Katrina Connection, said his efforts to update information on storm-related missing-persons cases — he believes the true number is closer to 500 — often get no response. “My conclusion is that they’re not concerned and that they’re not doing anything,” said Filmore, who volunteered after Katrina to help find missing persons….”  (Olsen, Lise. “5 years after Katrina, storm’s death toll remains a mystery.” Houston Chronicle, 8-30-2010.)

 

Popular Mechanics: “No one should have been surprised. Not the federal agencies tasked with preparing for catastrophes. Not the local officials responsible for aging levees and vulnerable populations. Least of all the residents themselves, who had been warned for decades that they lived on vulnerable terrain. But when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, it seemed as though the whole country was caught unawares. Accusations began to fly even before floodwaters receded. But facts take longer to surface. In the months since the storm, many of the first impressions conveyed by the media have turned out to be mistaken. And many of the most important lessons of Katrina have yet to be absorbed. But one thing is certain: More hurricanes will come. To cope with them we need to understand what really happened during modern America’s worst natural disaster. Popular Mechanics editors and reporters spent more than four months interviewing officials, scientists, first responders and victims. This is our report.

 

“Katrina Wasn’t a Superstorm.

“Myth: ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime event.’ New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, press conference, Aug. 28, 2005.

 

“Reality: Though many accounts portray Katrina as a storm of unprecedented magnitude, it was in fact a large, but otherwise typical, hurricane. On the 1-to-5 Saffir-Simpson scale, Katrina was a midlevel Category 3 hurricane at landfall. Its barometric pressure was 902 millibars (mb), the sixth lowest ever recorded, but higher than Wilma (882mb) and Rita (897mb), the storms that followed it. Katrina’s peak sustained wind speed at landfall 55 miles south of New Orleans was 125 mph; winds in the city barely reached hurricane strength.

 

“By contrast, when Hurricane Andrew struck the Florida coast in 1992, its sustained winds were measured at 142 mph. And meteorologists estimate that 1969’s Category 5 Hurricane Camille, which followed a path close to Katrina’s, packed winds as high as 200 mph. Two factors made Katrina so devastating. Its radius (the distance from the center of the storm to the point of its maximum winds, usually at the inner eye wall) was 30 miles–three times wider than Camille’s. In addition, Katrina approached over the Gulf of Mexico’s shallow northern shelf, generating a more powerful storm surge–the water pushed ashore by hurricanes–than systems that move across deeper waters. In Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, the surge topped out at 30 ft.; in New Orleans the surge was 25 ft.–enough to overtop some of the city’s floodwalls….

 

“Policymakers–and coastal residents–need to start seeing hurricanes as routine weather events, not once-in-a-lifetime anomalies….” (Popular Mechanics Editors. “Debunking the Myths of Hurricane Katrina: Special Report.” March 2006.)

 

Contemporary Press

 

Sep 24, 2005: “Gulfport, Miss. — Visiting emergency responders taking pictures of a storm-battered Biloxi casino spotted a woman’s body floating near the shore, bringing Mississippi’s death toll from Hurricane Katrina to 220, the Harrison County coroner said Friday. A squall generated by Hurricane Rita on Thursday afternoon likely freed the body from floating debris, allowing it to surface near the wreckage of the pirate-themed Treasure Bay Casino Resort, Gary T. Hargrove said. The body found early Thursday evening marked the first recovery of a Katrina victim’s remains in a week. Hargrove said the condition of the woman’s body indicated she had died around the time of the Aug. 29 storm.

 

“Of the 220 killed in Mississippi, 165 were in the six southernmost Mississippi counties — Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, Stone, and George — for which Hargrove is keeping records. He said nearly all drowned. He said 92 of the bodies recovered in the six counties have been identified and 85 have been returned to their families.”  (Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “A gruesome find.” 9-24-2005.)

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Florida Developments from Hurricane Katrina.” WTLV, Jacksonville, FL, 8-30-2005. At: http://archive.firstcoastnews.com/weather/news-article.aspx?storyid=43278

 

Barton, Jill (AP). “Four dead, five missing after Hurricane Katrina dumps heavy rain on southern Florida.” Daily Republican-Register, Mt. Carmel, IL,  8-26-2005, p. 6. Accessed at:

http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=188068264&sterm

 

Barton, Jill (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=91572712&sterm

 

Barton, Jill (AP). “Katrina roars ashore.” News Herald, Panama City, FL, 8-26-2005, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=182096266&sterm

 

Bedient, Philip B. and Antonia Sebastian. “An Introduction to Gulf Coast Severe Storms and Hurricanes,” pp. 1-15 in: Bedient, Philip B. (Ed.) Lessons From Hurricane Ike. Texas A&M University Press, 2012. Google preview accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=gelBBDRUjCcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Beven, John L. II, et al. “Annual Summary: Atlantic Hurricane Season of 2005.” Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 136, March 2008, pp. 1109-1173. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/mwr_pdf/2005.pdf

 

Blake, Eric S., Edward N. Rappaport, and Christopher W. Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Cyclones From 1851 to 2006. Miami, FL: National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center, April 15, 2007 update, 45 pages. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NWS-TPC-5.pdf

 

Boyd, Ezra (Graduate Research Assistant, LSU Hurricane Public Health Center). Preliminary Summary Report of Hurricane Katrina Deceased Victim Recovery Locations in Louisiana. 10-13-2006, 19 pages. Accessed 6-5-2013 at: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2F94.23.146.173%2Fficheros%2F2de8531e40a3ec345ea39b0a2ab658b6.pdf&ei=zSIFU_LcHYWR0QHv_YGQAQ&usg=AFQjCNHoWZwJNpkqdJ_R9ODcXgT-xPQWPQ&bvm=bv.61535280,d.dmQ

 

Brunkard, J., G. Namulanda, and R. Ratard (CDC). “Hurricane Katrina deaths, Louisiana, 2005.” Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness (AMA) Vol. 2, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp. 215-223. Abstract accessed 6-6-2013 at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18756175

 

Burt, Christopher C. and Mark Stroud. Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book. W. W. Norton & Co., 2007, 304.  Google preview accessed 1-1-2014 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=NuP7ATq9nWgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

CNN. “Katrina’s official death toll tops 1,000.” 9-21-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/21/katrina.impact/

 

Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “Rita evacuees die in Miss. Crash.” 9-24-2005. Accessed 2-10-2014 at: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2005/sep/24/in-brief/?print=1

 

Copeland, Larry. “Hurricane Katrina makes deadly landfall in South Florida,” USA Today, 8-24-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/2005-08-24-florida-storm_x.htm

 

Copeland, Larry and Laura Parker. “Search-and-Rescue effort continues in Miss.” USA Today, 8-31-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-08-30-katrina-miss_x.htm

 

Curtis, Stephen A. (Ed.). Hurricane Katrina Damage Assessment: Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi Ports and Coasts. Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 2007.  Google preview 5-25-2016 at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=XD2UaKCQ_k0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Dahlburg, John-Thor and Jenny Jarvie (Los Angeles Times). “Hurricane Katrina could hit Florida again.” The Baltimore Sun, 8-27-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2005-08-27/news/0508270404_1_hurricane-katrina-hurricane-dennis-landfall

 

Discovery.com. “Isaac vs. Katrina: How Do They Compare?” 8-28-2012. Accessed 5-25-2016: http://news.discovery.com/earth/weather-extreme-events/isaac-katrina-comparison-120828.htm?_ga=1.30079163.565769400.1392833459

 

DoSomething.org. “11 Facts About Hurricane Katrina.” No date. Accessed 2-19-2014 at: http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-hurricane-katrina#

 

Evans, Ben and Becky Bohrer. “Promises, Promises: Obama Wins Praise for Katrina.” Associated Press, 8-27-2009. Accessed at:  http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090827/D9ABG5H80.html

[Could not find this article when double-checking URLs 5-25-2016.]

 

Federal Emergency Management Agency. Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast: Mitigation Assessment Team Report; Building Performance Observations, Recommendations, and Technical Guidance (FEMA 549).  Washington, DC:  FEMA July 2006. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=3hwpbpA-GfcC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Fink, Sheri. “The New Katrina Flood: Hospital Liability.” New York Times, 1-1-2010. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/weekinreview/03fink.html?scp=1&sq=sheri%20fink%20katrina&st=cse&_r=1&

 

Gautam, Sandeep, Jonathan Menachem, Sudesh K. Srivastav, Patrice Delafontaine, and Anand Irimpen. “Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the Incidence of Acute Coronary Syndrome at a Primary Angioplasty Center in New Orleans.” Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, Vol. 3, No. 3, Oct 2009, pp. 144-150. Abstract accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19713855

 

Government Accountability Office. Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. Washington, DC: GAO Letter Report, 11-21-2008, 129 pages.  Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0959r.pdf

 

Gunn, Angus M. “Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005,” Chapter 181 in, Encyclopedia of Disasters: Environmental Catastrophes and Human Tragedies (Volume 2).  Greenwood Press, 2007, pp. 686-695.

 

Hampson, N. B., Stock, A. L. “Storm­-related Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Lessons Learned from Recent Epidemics.” Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine, Vol. 33 No. 4, 2006. 257-263. At:  http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/dspace/bitstream/123456789/5054/1/17004412.pdf

 

Heirdorn, Keith C. (The Weather Doctor). Weather Almanac for October 2005. When Weather Goes Bad: Hurricane Katrina. 10-1-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: https://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2005/alm05oct.htm

 

Heidorn, Keith C. (The Weather Doctor). Weather Events. “Louisiana’s Great Hurricane of 1722.” 10-1-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/events/lahurr1722.htm

 

Jervis, Rick. “43 Katrina Victims Still a Mystery,” USA Today, 1-21-2009. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-01-20-body-id_N.htm

 

Jonkman, et al. “Loss of Life Caused by the Flooding of New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina,” Risk Analysis, Vol. 29, Issue 5, pp. 676-698, 1-31-2009.

 

Kates, Robert W, C. E. Colten, Shirley Laska, and S. P. Leatherman. “Reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina: A research perspective.” PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) Vol. 103, No. 40, 10-3-2006, pp. 14653-14660. Accessed 5-25-2016 at:  http://www.pnas.org/content/103/40/14653.full

 

Katrina Connection. “Lest We Forget: Where Have All the Missing Gone?” 8-29-2008.  Accessed 6-6-2013 at: http://www.katrinaconnection.com/HurricaneKatrinaMissing.html

 

Knabb, Richard D., Jamie R. Rhome, and Daniel P. Brown (National Hurricane Center). Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina, 23-30 August 2005. 12-20-2005, updated 8-10-2006 and 9-14-2011. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL122005_Katrina.pdf

 

Korosec, Thomas. “Coastal Crises. 126 dead; gas, hot meals in short supply. Lack of toilets, rotted food worries emergency official while bodies being found ‘everywhere’.” Houston Chronicle, 9-1-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.chron.com/news/hurricanes/article/126-dead-in-Mississippi-gas-in-short-supply-1941640.php

 

Lansford, Tom, Jack Covarrubias, Brian Carriere, Justin Miller. Fostering Community Resilience: Homeland Security and Hurricane Katrina.” Ashgate, 2010. Google preview acceded 5-25-2016 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=9uIAUgZVtF8C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Lindsay, Robert. “Final Katrina Death Toll at 4,081,” Beyond Highbrow, 5-30-2009. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://robertlindsay.wordpress.com/2009/05/30/final-katrina-death-toll-at-4081/

 

Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Hurricane Katrina. “Deceased Reports. Reports of Missing and Deceased. 8-2-2006.”

 

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Billion-Dollar Weather/Climate Disasters. 11-17-2013 update. Accessed 2-18-2014 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events

 

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Hurricane Katrina. 12-29-2005 update. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremeevents/specialreports/Hurricane-Katrina.pdf

 

NCDC (National Climatic Data Center), NOAA. Storm Events Database. (Coastal Dade…Begin Date 08/25/2005 12:00:00 EST, End Date 08/26/22005 08:00:00 EST.) Accessed 2-24-2014 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=5470157

 

National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, NOAA. Hurricanes in History, “Katrina, 2005.” Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/history.shtml#katrina

 

National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, NOAA. Hurricane Katrina & The Gulf Coast (Draft). Accessed 6-6-2013 at: http://post_119_gulfport_ms.tripod.com/katrina1.html

 

National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service, NOAA. Hurricanes in History. “Hurricane Katrina 2005.” Accessed 2-18-2014 at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/outreach/history/#katrina

 

National Hurricane Center, NWS, NOAA. Tropical Weather Summary – 2005 Web Final.  Miami: NHC, National Weather Service, NOAA, January 23, 2007. Accessed 5-25-2016 at:  http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2005/tws/MIATWSAT_nov_final.shtml

 

Nelson, S. (Florida Medical Examiners Commission), et al. “Mortality Associated with Hurricane Katrina – Florida and Alabama, August-October 2005.” MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly), Vol. 55, No. 9, 3-10-2006, pp. 239-242. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5509a5.htm#tab

 

News Herald, Panama City, FL (Associated Press). “Pensacola man dies of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning,” 9-2-2005, p. 6B. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=182096498&sterm

 

Olsen, Lise. “5 years after Katrina, storm’s death toll remains a mystery.” Houston Chronicle, 8-30-2010. Accessed 6-6-2013 at: http://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/5-years-after-Katrina-storm-s-death-toll-remains-1589464.php

 

Popular Mechanics Editors. “Debunking the Myths of Hurricane Katrina: Special Report.” March 2006. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/natural-disasters/2315076

[When double-checking this URL link on 5-25-2016 it could not be located.]

 

Rappaport, Edward N. “Fatalities in the United States from Atlantic tropical cyclones – new data and interpretation.” Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (Early Online Releases). 8-16-2013. Accessed 3-5-2014 at: http://journals.ametsoc.org/toc/bams/0/0

 

Schleifstein, Mark. “Study of Hurricane Katrina’s Dead Show Most Were Old, Lived Near Levee Breaches.” Times-Picayune (New Orleans), 8-27-2009, updated 10-8-2009. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2009/08/answers_are_scarce_in_study_of.html

 

Townsend, Francis Fragos (Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism). The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. Washington, DC: White House, 2-23-2006. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/index.html

 

USA Today. “New Orleans outlook bleak; 100 dead in Miss.” 8-30-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/2005-08-30-katrina_x.htm

 

Webley, Kayla and Robert Holmes (USGS). “Top 10 Historic U.S. Floods.” Time. 5-11-2011.  Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2070796_2070798,00.html?xid=rss-

 

Wikipedia. “Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Florida.” 12-20-2013 modification. Accessed 2-24-2014 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Katrina_in_Florida

 

Wikipedia. “Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.”  Accessed 5-25-2016 at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Katrina_in_Mississippi

 

Wikipedia. “Hurricane Katrina Effects by Region.” Accessed 5-25-2016 at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina_effects_by_region

 

WTVY.com, Dothan, AL. “Fatal Accident on I-10.” 8-30-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.wtvy.com/home/headlines/1705326.html

 

Zimmermann, Kim Ann. “Hurricane Katrina: Facts, Damage & Aftermath.” LiveScience. 8-20-2012. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.livescience.com/22522-hurricane-katrina-facts.html

 

Additional Reading

 

Brinkley, Douglas. The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Harper Perennial, 2006. Google preview accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=0a3PQ8oBriUC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Chan, Sewell and Gardiner Harris. “Death stalked the hospitals.” New York Times, 9-14-2005. At: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/14/world/14iht-hospital.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[When double-checking URLs 5-25-2016 this URL could not be re-accessed.]

 

Chandra, Anita, and Joie Acosta. The Role of Nongovernmental Organizations in Long-Term Human Recovery After Disaster: Reflections From Louisiana Four Years After Hurricane Katrina (Occasional Paper). RAND, Gulf States Policy Institute. 2009. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occasional_papers/2009/RAND_OP277.pdf

 

Farris, Meg (Medical Reporter). “Coroner: Deaths up since Katrina as stress takes toll.” WWLTV.com, New Orleans, LA, 3-15-2010. Accessed at: http://www.wwltv.com/news/health/Stress-87714322.html

[When double-checking URLs 5-25-2016 this URL could not be re-accessed.]

 

Mobile Register, AL. “No Mercy. Flood Crisis Worsens in New Orleans, Scores Dead in Mississippi as Terrible Impact of Katrina Unfolds.” 8-31-2005. Accessed 2-24-2014 at: http://www.al.com/mobileregister/pdf/register083105a.pdf

 

Nebraska Urban Search and Rescue Task Force One. Hurricane Katrina After Action. Lincoln, NE: Nebraska Task Force One, 8-22-2006 modification. Accessed 9-13-2015 at: http://www.lincoln.ne.gov/city/fire/usar/pic/response/katrina/aar1.pdf

 

Price, Scott (USCG Deputy Historian). A Bright Light on the Darkest of Days: The U.S. Coast Guard’s Response to Hurricane Katrina. 6-27-2012 modification. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.uscg.mil/history/katrina/docs/DarkestDay.pdf

 

U.S. House of Representatives, Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina (Tom Davis, Chairman). A Failure of Initiative: The Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina (House Report 109-377). Washington: GPO, 12-31-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/pagedetails.action?browsePath=109/HRPT/[300%3B399]&granuleId=CRPT-109hrpt377&packageId=CRPT-109hrpt377

 

Wyndham Partners Consulting, Limited. Hurricane Katrina, 29^th August 2005. Preliminary Damage Survey, 9-22-2005. Accessed 5-25-2016 at: http://www.renre.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/katrinaDamageSurvey.pdf

 

 

[1] The number of deaths we use reflect those generally reported today. We note “>” (at least) in that there are over 100 missing and presumed dead, as well as unreported health-related indirect deaths following the hurricane.

[2] Given (1) the large number if still missing, and presumably dead, measuring in the dozens, and (2) the unknown number of health-related indirect deaths in the weeks following Katrina that have gone unreported, this is not an unreasonable approximation. We do not use it, however, in that it appears to be a “guesstimate.”

[3] No specific source citation.

[4] Cites Beven et al. 2008. Bevin, though, on p. 1140, “Casualty and Damage Statistics” section, has 1833 deaths.

[5] Not counting 705 missing.

[6] No source citation.

[7] “Especially for Louisiana and Mississippi, the number of direct fatalities is highly uncertain and the true number will probably not ever be known. As of this writing, several hundred persons are still reported missing in association with Katrina, so it is possible the death toll could grow beyond current estimates.”

[8] Cites Knabb et al., National Hurricane Center. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina, 23-30 August 2005.

[9] No source citation.

[10] Direct deaths. 4,081 no. in title supposed to represent “excess deaths in the period after the hurricane was over.”

[11] Table 1.2 “Worst Natural Disasters in the United States, 1900-2005.” Cites: Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, “Reports of Missing and Deceased” [“Louisiana Missing and Deceased”], February 17, 2006, http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/page.asp?ID=192&Detail=5248; and Katrina Tropical Cyclone Report.

[12] Described as edited from the National Hurricane Center’s report of 12-20-2005.

[13] Cites E. Blake 2012 personal communication.

[14] From Table “Number of deaths directly, indirectly, or possibly related to Hurricane Katrina, by cause of death – selected counties, Florida and Alabama, August-October 2005.”

[15] Associated Press. “Florida Developments from Hurricane Katrina.” WTLV, Jacksonville, FL, 8-30-2005; News Herald, Panama City (AP). “Pensacola man dies of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning,” 9-2-2005, p. 6B.

[16] Dahlburg/Jarvie (LA Times). “Hurricane Katrina could hit Florida again.” The Baltimore Sun, 8-27-2005.

[17] Jill Barton (AP). “Katrina roars ashore.” News Herald, Panama City, FL, 8-26-2005, p. 1.

[18] Barton. “Four dead…after Hurricane Katrina…” Daily Republican-Register, Mt. Carmel, IL,  8-26-2005, p. 6.

[19] Larry Copeland. “Hurricane Katrina makes deadly landfall in South Florida,” USA Today, 8-24-2005; Jill Barton (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2.

[20] Jill Barton (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2. Identification as a male is from: John-Thor Dahlburg and Jenny Jarvie (Los Angeles Times). “Hurricane Katrina could hit Florida again.” The Baltimore Sun, 8-27-2005. They note that the boat was a 25-footer.

[21] Jill Barton (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2; Dahlburg/Jarvie (Los Angeles Times). “Hurricane Katrina could hit Florida again.” The Baltimore Sun, 8-27-2005.

[22] Jill Barton (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2.

[23] Jill Barton. “Four dead…after Hurricane Katrina…” Daily Republican-Register, Mt. Carmel, IL,  8-26-2005, p.6.

[24] Associated Press. “Florida Developments from Hurricane Katrina.” WTLV, Jacksonville, FL, 8-30-2005.

[25] Table in: Nelson, S. (Florida Medical Examiners Commission), et al. “Mortality Associated with Hurricane Katrina – Florida and Alabama, August-October 2005.” MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly), Vol. 55, No. 9, 3-10-2006, pp. 239-242. There is no source citation and we have not been able to verify through Newspaperarchives.com, Internet search or other sources. It is conceivable that either this is copying from Wikipedia article (which we cannot verify), or vice versa. We do not include in that we cannot verify.

[26] Cites Knabb, et al., who, though, do not mention a vehicular accident in Walton County. Thus, we do not include.

[27] Jill Barton (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2. Identification as a male is from: John-Thor Dahlburg and Jenny Jarvie (Los Angeles Times). “Hurricane Katrina could hit Florida again.” The Baltimore Sun, 8-27-2005. They note that the boat was a 25-footer.

[28] From Table “Number of deaths directly, indirectly, or possibly related to Hurricane Katrina, by cause of death – selected counties, Florida and Alabama, August-October 2005.”

[29] Associated Press. “Florida Developments from Hurricane Katrina.” WTLV, Jacksonville, FL, 8-30-2005; News Herald, Panama City (AP). “Pensacola man dies of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning,” 9-2-2005, p. 6B.

[30] “Pensacola. A man died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator operating inside his home, authorities said….Authorities were called to Perry’s house because no one had heard from him since the hurricane hit Monday [Aug 29]. Upon entering his home they found an empty generator and several full gasoline cans….” (News Herald, Panama City, FL (AP). “Pensacola man dies of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning,” 9-2-2005, 6B)

[31] Associated Press. “Florida Developments from Hurricane Katrina.” WTLV, Jacksonville, FL, 8-30-2005.

[32] We suspect that one of the two boating “drownings” is of a man in Miami-Dade County from injuries sustained from being thrown about by the buffeting of his boat during the hurricane, and that the “unknown circumstances” death is that of the Florida City, Miami-Dade County man “found floating in floodwaters in his front yard.”

[33] NCDC Storm Events Database, Coastal Dade, notes two drownings on boats and one “unknown circumstances.”

[34] No citation. We assume this reflects the same mistake that is in Knabb in counting as a drowning a man who died of injuries sustained on his boat as it was being buffeted about by the hurricane. We do not include in our count.

[35] Jill Barton (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2; Dahlburg/Jarvie (Los Angeles Times). “Hurricane Katrina could hit Florida again.” The Baltimore Sun, 8-27-2005.

[36] Jill Barton (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2.

[37] From Table “Number of deaths directly, indirectly, or possibly related to Hurricane Katrina, by cause of death – selected counties, Florida [all] and Alabama, August-October 2005.”

[38] From Table “Number of deaths directly, indirectly, or possibly related to Hurricane Katrina, by cause of death – selected counties, Florida [all] and Alabama, August-October 2005.” Notes 2 direct and 2 indirect deaths from “Hit by falling tree limb.” No citation. Cannot confirm four such fatalities. It is conceivable the Nelson, et al. fourth fatality refers to the Cooper City vehicular accident wherein a 79-year-old man hit a tree with his car.

[39] Dahlburg/Jarvie (Los Angeles Times). “Hurricane Katrina could hit Florida again.” Baltimore Sun, 8-27-2005.

[40] Jill Barton (AP). “Katrina roars ashore.” News Herald, Panama City, FL, 8-26-2005, p. 1.

[41] Jill Barton. “Four dead…after Hurricane Katrina…” Daily Republican-Register, Mt. Carmel, IL,  8-26-2005, p.6.

[42] We assume that the NCDC reference is to the Cooper City crash.

[43] We assume that the NCDC reference is to the Cooper City crash.

[44] Table in: Nelson, S. (Florida Medical Examiners Commission), et al. “Mortality Associated with Hurricane Katrina – Florida and Alabama, August-October 2005.” MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly), Vol. 55, No. 9, 3-10-2006, pp. 239-242. There is no source citation and we have not been able to verify through Newspaperarchives.com, Internet search or other sources. It is conceivable that either this is copying from Wikipedia article (which we cannot verify), or vice versa. We do not include in that we cannot verify.

[45] Cites Knabb, et al., who, though, do not mention a vehicular accident in Walton County. Thus, we do not include.

[46] WTVY.com, Dothan, AL. “Fatal Accident on I-10.” 8-30-2005: “[FL] Highway Patrol says poor road conditions caused by…Katrina may have played a part in the accident…just inside the Walton and Holmes County Line…”

[47] Larry Copeland. “Hurricane Katrina makes deadly landfall in South Florida,” USA Today, 8-24-2005; Jill Barton (AP). “Hurricane Katrina Hits Florida, Sets Off Floods.” Daily Sitka Sentinel, AK, 8-26-2005, p. 2.

[48] From Table “Number of deaths directly, indirectly, or possibly related to Hurricane Katrina, by cause of death – selected counties, Florida [all] and Alabama, August-October 2005.”

[49] Writes that one was direct (presumably the tornado fatality).

[50] No source citation. Have not been able to confirm; not including.

[51] No source citation.

[52] Cites Beven et al. 2008.

[53] Notes that this includes out-of-state evacuee deaths. However, so does the LA DHH data cited by Boyd, which reports 1,118 in-state deaths. Wikipedia does not provide a source citation.

[54] Notes that “the true loss-of-life of this disaster remains uncertain. One year later, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) reports nearly 130 missing and the New Orleans Fire Department continues to recover the remains of deceased victims from the rubble of destroyed houses.”

[55] Cites the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and its “Katrina Missing” website and notes that “As of August 2, 2006 this site listed 1,464 deceased victims and notes that the cases of 135 missing have been turned over to law enforcement. Of the confirmed dead, 1,118 victims perished within Louisiana, while 346 victims perished outside of the state of Louisiana. Of the 1,118 in-state deaths, 875 victims were recovered and examined by the Medical Examiner’s Office. The remaining victims were handled by parish coroners: 20 by Orleans parish coroner and 223 by other parish coroners….At least five persons have been located alive.”

[56] Citing the CDC, write that “From August 29-September 24, 2005, a total of 51 cases of CO poisoning were reported by hyperbaric facilities in Alabama (24 nonfatal cases), Louisiana (16 nonfatal and 5 fatal cases), and Mississippi (6 nonfatal cases). Of the 46 nonfatal cases, 37 patients were treated with HBO [subscript “2”]. Among the total cases, 59% occurred on day 2 or 3 after the storm struck…Portable generators were the source of CO for 45 nonfatal and all 5 fatal cases. One nonfatal case was associated with use of a gasoline-powered pressure washer. During this same time period, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported a total of 58 calls relating to possible CO exposures, 8 in Mississippi, 21 in Alabama and 29 in Louisiana. No calls relating to fatalities were received.”

[57] At least it is my impression that the fatality estimate relates to New Orleans: “It flooded the historic city of New Orleans, ultimately killing over 1,300 people…” Perhaps though, the reference is to overall fatalities.

[58] Althea LaCoste. (Fink, Sheri. “The New Katrina Flood: Hospital Liability.” New York Times, 1-1-2010.)

[59] No specific source citation.

[60] Cites: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. Information Relating to the Federal Appropriations for Katrina Recovery. Jackson, MS: Office of the Governor, 1-6-2006.

[61] Cited is Harrison County Civil Defense Directory, Joe Spraggins, who is quoted as stating that local officials were “very, very worried that this is going to go a lot higher.”

[62] Cited are Jackson County officials.

[63] Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. “Rita evacuees die in Miss. Crash.” 9-24-2005.

[64] No source citation. We have not been able to verify; do not include.

International, direct  (42)

— 42  Bevin, Jack (NHC). Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, p. 4.

— 16  Cuba. Bevin, Jack (NHC). Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, 4.

— 22  Haiti. Bevin, Jack (NHC). Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, 4.

—   1  Jamaica. Bevin, Jack. Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, 4.

—   3  U.S. Bevin, Jack (NHC). Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, 4.

 

U.S.                             (15)

— 15  Bevin, Jack (NHC). Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, p. 4.

 

Florida                        (14)

–14  Bevin, Jack (NHC). Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, p. 4.

—  2  Accidental falls. Bevin. Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, 4.

—  4  Automobile accidents. Bevin. Tropical Cyclone Rpt., Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, 4.

—  2  CO poisoning. Bevin, Jack. Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, 4.

—  1  Drowning, rough surf, Dania Beach. Bevin. Tropical Cyclone…Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, p4.

—  1  Drowning, sunken boat, FL Keys. Bevin. Tropical Cyclone…Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, p. 4.

—  2  Electrocutions. Bevin. Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, 4.

—  2  Natural causes “exacerbated by storm stress.” Bevin, 11-22-2005, p. 4.

 

Georgia                      (  1)

— 1  Atlanta vicinity. Tree fall, male. Bevin. Tropical Cyclone…Dennis, 4-13 July 2005, p. 4.

 

Source

 

Bevin, Jack. Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Dennis, 4-13 July 2005. National Hurricane Center, 11-22-2005. Accessed at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL042005_Dennis.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

–9  Associated Press. “Man Indicted in House Fire That Killed 9,” Oct 1, 2008.

–9  AP. “Nine killed in Cleveland house fire.” Sandusky Register, OH, 5-22-2005, p. A7.

–9  Cleveland.com (Cory Shaffer). “Antun Lewis: is 35 year enough  for nine lives?” 6-24-2014.

 

Narrative Information

 

May 22, 2005: “A fire broke out at a crowded house during a children’s sleepover early Saturday, killing seven kids and two adults [actually, nine children], the fire department said. The fire was so hot it scorched the frame of the home jet black and forced back neighbors who rushed in to help. Eleven people were in the house when the blaze started about 3 a.m., and at least one child was there for a sleepover….” (Associated Press/Thomas J. Sheeran. “Nine killed in Cleveland house fire.” Sandusky Register, OH, Sunday, May 22, 2005, p. A7.)

 

Oct 1, 2008: “Cleveland — A federal grand jury indicted a man Wednesday in a 2005 house fire that killed nine people, including children at a birthday sleepover. Antun Lewis was charged with setting the May 21, 2005, house fire in an eastside neighborhood that outraged residents around the city. Someone broke into Carter’s rented home and doused her living room with gasoline, lit a match and ran.

 

“Friends and family of the victims had expressed frustration with the slow pace of the investigation by federal, county and city authorities….Federal prosecutors planned a news conference later Wednesday.

The victims “were found on the second floor of the 2½-story, 99-year-old home located in a poor neighborhood about 3 miles from downtown. All died of smoke inhalation.

 

“Lewis was previously convicted on unrelated state charges, according to the indictment.”  (Associated Press. “Man Indicted in House Fire That Killed 9,” Oct 1, 2008.)

 

June 24, 2014: “Cleveland, Ohio – The Friday sentencing of Antun Lewis, the man twice convicted of being the city’s deadliest arsonist, may not have quieted the years of controversy surrounding the case….Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. sentenced Lewis to 35 years in federal prison after a second jury convicted him of setting the 2005 fire that killed eight children and an adult at a sleepover….

 

“The crime and the time. The city awoke to shock May 21, 2005, as news reports relayed tragedy. A sleepover on East 87th Street erupted in flames, leaving nine people dead including: Fakih Jones, 7; Shauntavia Mitchell, 12; Maleeya Williams, 12; Miles Golden Cockfield, 13; Earnest Tate Jr., 13; Antwon Jackson Jr., 14; Moses Williams Jr., 14; Devonte Carter, 15; and Medeia Carter, 33.

 

“It was the single deadliest arson incident in Cleveland history. Investigators later determined someone broke into the apartment, doused the first floor in gasoline and lit the apartment on fire.

 

“Even though police gave Lewis a polygraph test 10 days after the blaze, it took investigators more than three years to secure an indictment, as community outrage continued to build….

 

“The original case against Lewis hinged on testimony from informants who said Lewis confessed to the crime in Cuyahoga County Jail, and a man who said he was the getaway driver….

 

“A jury convicted Lewis in February 2011, but the judge never handed down a sentence. [Judge] Oliver tossed the conviction a year later citing that the case relied on the testimony of ‘unreliable witnesses.’ Oliver’s ruling said that while a jury reversal is rare, ‘it would be a miscarriage of justice for this verdict to stand, as it rests predominantly on the testimony of witnesses who were impeached or stood to gain from testifying.’ In throwing out the conviction, Oliver referred to himself as ‘the 13th juror.’….

 

“Maybe the most controversial issue is the sentencing. Oliver sentenced Lewis to 35 years in prison for killing 9 people – less than four years for each murder Lewis was convicted of committing. Prosecutors originally asked for the death penalty, but Lewis was deemed mentally unfit for the death penalty. Instead, they sought life in prison, and Lewis’ defense attorneys asked for 20 years….” (Cleveland.com (Cory Shaffer). “Antun Lewis: is 35 year enough  for nine lives?” 6-24-2014.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Man Indicted in House Fire That Killed 9,” 10-1-2008.  Accessed at:  http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2008/oct/01/-cmh_2008_10_01_0021-ar-6887/

 

Associated Press (Thomas J. Sheeran). “Nine killed in Cleveland house fire.” Sandusky Register, OH, 5-22-2005, p. A7. Accessed 9-27-2015 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=229267445&sterm=fire+cleveland+children

 

Cleveland.com (Cory Shaffer). “Antun Lewis: is 35 year enough  for nine lives?” 6-24-2014. Accessed 9-27-2015: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/06/antun_lewis_convicted_arsonist.html

 

 

 

–18 Aviation Safety Network. US Army Chinook crash, heavy dust storm, Afghanistan, 4-6-2005.
–18 The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO. “Helicopter death toll climbs to 18.” 4-9-2005, p. 6.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, flight Safety Foundation, Database, 2005:
“Date: 06-Apr-2005 Time: 14:30
“Type: Boeing CH-47D Chinook
“Registration 88-00100 MSN: M3274
“Fatalities: Fatalities: 18 / Occupants
….
“Location: 5 km from Ghazni – Afghanistan
“Phase: En route
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: [Not noted.] Destination airport: Bagram Airfield
“Narrative:

“The CH-47D Chinook helicopter crashed near Khudaidad village in Ghazni province, 80 miles SW of Kabul during a heavy dust storm. The severe dust storm contained winds of more than 45 knots that caused the pilots to lose outside visibility. The pilots were transitioning to instrument flight procedures when they became spatially disoriented and over-controlled the aircraft.”

Newspaper

April 9: “Kabul, Afghanistan – The remains of two more American soldiers were found in the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in Afghanistan, raising the number killed to 18, the military said today. Even before the higher death toll, the incident was the deadliest for Americans here since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The CH-47 Chinook went down during a sandstorm Wednesday near Ghazni, 80 miles south of the capital, Kabul. Thirteen U.S. service members and three civilian contractors were previously confirmed dead.” (The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO. “Helicopter death toll climbs to 18.” 4-9-2005, p. 6.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, flight Safety Foundation, Database, 2005. US Army Chinook crash, heavy dust storm, near Ghazni, Afghanistan, 4-6-2005. Accessed 7-31-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/56476

The Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO. “Helicopter death toll climbs to 18.” 4-9-2005, p. 6. Accessed 7-31-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/colorado-springs-gazette-apr-09-2005-p-6/

— 15  Collette, Mark, et al. “Ten years after a Texas City…” Houston Chronicle, 3-21-2015.

— 15  U.S. Chemical Safety Board. BP America Refinery Explosion (website).

— 15  U.S. CSB. Investigation Report: Refinery Explosion…Fire, BP, Texas City…2005.

 

Narrative Information

 

U.S. CSB: “At approximately 1:20 p.m. on March 23, 2005, a series of explosions occurred at the BP Texas City refinery during the restarting of a hydrocarbon isomerization unit. Fifteen workers were killed and 180 others were injured. Many of the victims were in or around work trailers located near an atmospheric vent stack. The explosions occurred when a distillation tower flooded with hydrocarbons and was overpressurized, causing a geyser-like release from the vent stack.”  (U.S. CSB, BP America Refinery Explosion, Texas City, TX…, “Incident Description.”)

 

Collette et al.: “Investigative findings. “At least 58 workers have died at U.S. refineries[1] since March 23, 2005, nearly the same number as the decade before.[2]

 

“Federal officials have tracked nearly 350 fires at U.S. refineries in the past eight years — about one every week.

 

“Some companies continue to put tents and office trailers in danger zones at refineries, despite recommendations to limit the number of workers in harm’s way.

 

“The death toll in the worst refinery accident since 2005 was higher because nonessential personnel were left in harm’s way. Seven were killed at a Seattle refinery during a maintenance activity that required one operator.

 

“Federal regulators lack hard data to accurately track deaths and monitor safety trends within the industry.” (Collette, Mark, et al. “Ten years after a Texas City…” Houston Chronicle, 3-21-2015.)

 

Sources

 

Collette, Mark, Lise Olsen and Jim Malewitz. “Ten years after a Texas City refinery blast killed 15 and rattled a community, workers keep dying.” Houston Chronicle and The Texas Tribune, 3-21-2015. Accessed 9-27-2015 at: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/texascity/

 

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. BP America Refinery Explosion (website). Accessed 9-27-2015 at: http://www.csb.gov/bp-america-refinery-explosion/

 

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Investigation Report: Refinery Explosion and Fire, BP, Texas City, Texas, March 23, 2005. Wash, DC: CSB Rpt. 2005-04-I-TX, March 2007, 341 p. At: http://www.csb.gov/completed_investigations/docs/CSBFinalReportBP.pdf

 

[1] Notes elsewhere n the article that there are about 140 refineries in the U.S.

[2] Notes elsewhere in article: “There were at least 64 deaths in the 10 years before the accident.”

–9-10  Enger, John. “The shooting at Red Lake: What happened.” MPRnews, 3-18-2015.

–9-10  FBI. A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the [U.S.]…2000-2013. 9-16-2013, p. 25.

–9-10  Helms, Marisa. “Shooting fuels debate over safety of Prozac for teens.” MPR, 3-25-2005.

–9-10  Maag, Chris. “The Devil in Red Lake.” Time Magazine, 3-27-2005.

 

Narrative Information

 

Enger: “Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather first. He shot his grandfather, Daryl “Dash” Lussier, then Lussier’s companion, Michelle Sigana, in the house they all shared on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

 

“Weise took the guns Lussier used as a tribal police officer, a Glock pistol and a shotgun. He strapped on Lussier’s police-issued Kevlar vest and set off for Red Lake High School in his grandfather’s squad car. That is how Weise began his shooting spree on March 21, 2005.

 

“Weise walked in the front doors of the high school and started shooting. The first two rounds hit Derrick Brun, an unarmed security guard, in a hallway as he stepped forward to confront Weise.

 

“Weise moved on to math teacher Missy Dodds’ classroom, where he shot another teacher, Neva Rogers, and five students. In the midst of the killing, student Jeff May rushed Weise with a pencil, embedding the thing in Kevlar.

 

“Within minutes of Weise’s first shots, a team of four tribal police and conservation officers rushed into the school and came down the hall in a tactical diamond formation and confronted Weise. Weise retreated back into Dodds’ classroom, where he shot himself.

 

“Including Weise, 10 people died. At the time it was the deadliest school shooting since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. It remains the largest mass homicide in Minnesota history….

 

“ Shortly after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Conn., President Obama asked the FBI to use its national crime statistics to determine whether the number of such crimes was on the rise. In September 2014, the FBI report[2] chronicled shootings over a 13-year period in which people set out to kill others in populated areas. It was the first documentation of such cases. From December 2000 to 2013, there were 160 “active shooter” incidents in the U.S., in which 1,043 people were wounded or killed. The average number of such cases per year went from six incidents in the first seven years to 16 cases, on average, in the last seven years.” (Enger, John. “The shooting at Red Lake: What happened.” MPRnews, 3-18-2015.)

 

FBI: “On March 21, 2005, at 2:49 p.m., Jeffery James Weise, 16, armed with a shotgun and two handguns, began shooting at Red Lake High School in Red Lake, Minnesota. Before the incident at the school, the shooter fatally shot his grandfather, who was a police officer, and another individual at their home. He then took his grandfather’s police equipment, including guns and body armor, to the school. A total of nine people were killed, including an unarmed security guard, a teacher, and five students; six students were wounded. The shooter committed suicide during an exchange of gunfire with police.” (FBI. A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013. 9-16-2013, p. 25.)

 

Helms: “Family members of Jeff Weise say they have questions about the medication he was taking up until the day of the shootings in Red Lake. Authorities say Weise shot and killed nine people before turning the gun on himself. Weise was taking the antidepressant Prozac. The shootings are likely to renew the controversy over the use of antidepressants in children and adolescents.

 

“St. Paul, Minn. – Jeff Weise’s aunts, Shauna and Tammy Lussier, say they had no idea he would carry out the grisly shootings in Red Lake. He had been living with them for the past seven or eight years. The two aunts spoke recently to Fred de Sam Lazaro of PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Twin Cities Public Television.  They told him they took Jeff to get help for problems he was having with police and at school. They say his treatment included the antidepressant Prozac. “Actually, they had just recently upped his dosage. He was taking two pills a night, they upped it to three. We think that was too much for him, too much medication for him,” they said.

 

“Prozac is the only antidepressant approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use with adolescents. In October, the FDA ordered that all antidepressants carry prominent warnings about an increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in children. And now, groups opposed to the use of antidepressants in children are calling on the FDA to investigate the possible relationship between Prozac and the Red Lake shootings.

 

“Critic Vera Sharav is president of the Alliance for Human Research Protection, a New York-based nonprofit, promoting openness and accountability in medical research. Her group has been calling attention to the potential dangers of giving children and adolescents Prozac. Sharav points out that Eric Harris, one of the killers in the 1999 Columbine shootings, reportedly was prescribed Prozac. Sharav says Prozac and other antidepressants in the class of drugs known as SSRIs interfere with a person’s inhibitions. “Lots of us have violent thoughts. ‘I would like to take this man by the throat, he’s bothering me.’ But we don’t do it. The drug removes that inhibition to act out and that is why you have these explosive situations,” says Sharev.

 

“”That’s just not a correct scientific statement,” counters John M. Plewes, medical advisor at Eli Lilly, the maker of Prozac….” (Helms, Marisa. “Shooting fuels debate over safety of Prozac for teens.” Minnesota Public Radio, 3-25-2005.)

 

Maag: “Ashley Lajeunesse was doing math homework in study hall when she heard the first shotgun blast. She thought it was a student dropping a stack of textbooks. Then came another bang. Then another. The other students in the room looked up in sudden, knowing panic. No one could speak. The teacher in charge, Neva Rogers, walked to the door, turned the lock and shut off the lights. She too sensed what was happening. A gunman was in the school, and he was heading their way.

“Rogers ordered the students to the back of the room and told them to hide wherever they could. Freshman Felicia Hanks, 14, stuck her head inside a bookshelf as the shooting grew deafeningly near. Lajeunesse crouched near her friend Chase Lussier. “Chase shoved me down and told me to stay behind him,” says Lajeunesse, 15. The door handle jiggled. A gunshot exploded the glass panel beside it and then, through the opening, a hand reached in to open the door. In strolled a hulking figure, more than 6 ft. tall, with a 12-gauge shotgun held with both hands. He wore a black hooded trench coat, a black bandanna and black pants. His black military boots crunched the broken glass. Lajeunesse peeked over Lussier to look at the gunman. “His face was a mixture of anger and fear,” she recalls. Their eyes met. He raised his gun and fired. Lajeunesse ducked. She felt something warm and wet coating her jeans. It was Lussier’s blood. “I thought I was going to die,” Lajeunesse says, but her friend had taken the fatal blow. “Chase saved my life.”

“The teacher spoke up. “God be with us,” said Rogers. Provoked, the gunman shot her. He then aimed at another student, Chon’gai’la Morris, and asked, “Do you believe in God?”  “No,” came the answer. The gunman turned away and found other targets, shooting and killing Dewayne Lewis, Thurlene Stillday, Chanelle Rosebear and Alicia White as they huddled on the floor. He left the room and exchanged fire with police officers, who were advancing down the hallway. Retreating into Rogers’ classroom, he yelled, “I have hostages!” Then he turned a gun on himself and pulled the trigger. Silent throughout the ordeal, the surviving students began to scream.

 

“The massacre at Red Lake, with 10 dead, was the worst school shooting since 15 died at Columbine on April 20, 1999. There are clear parallels with the Colorado incident: merciless gunfire, the black trench coat, the life-or-death question. But Red Lake has its disturbing distinctions. Instead of an affluent community, the setting this time was an impoverished reservation of the proud Ojibwa Nation in Minnesota. The terrifying revelation of Columbine was that caring parents could overlook signs of trouble in their offspring; the trouble in Red Lake centered on a clearly confused young man who had no parent to turn to for counsel or support, who used box cutters to slit his wrists in abortive suicide attempts even as he experimented with identities in the shadows of cyberspace.

 

“Jeff Weise, 16, didn’t really grow up in Red Lake; he just ended up there. His earlier years were spent in Minneapolis, about 250 miles to the south. His family moved often between the city’s suburbs, and for a year they lived in a rented mobile home behind a pickle factory. “He seemed like a normal kid to me, except that he liked to be alone,” says Patrick Tahahwah, a family member who lived two doors down from Weise when the boy was 7. In 1997, his father committed suicide. In 1999, his mother was in a car accident that led to major brain damage. Weise was then sent to live with his relatives on the Red Lake reservation. “There wasn’t anywhere else for him to go,” Tahahwah says. The main town on the reservation is made up of mobile homes and factory-built houses. Its roads have no street signs. “This place is crap,” says Cory Desjarlait, 27, the son of the Red Lake school’s superintendent.

 

“At school in Red Lake, Weise became known as a goth, dressing almost exclusively in black and sculpting his hair into spikes and horns. Many classmates saw his drawings of guns, Nazi soldiers, and people being shot and hanged. “I’d go over and talk to him, ask him how he was doing,” says Cody Thunder, 15, whom Weise later shot in the hip during the school rampage. “He always talked about guns.”

 

“Still, he didn’t entirely fit the stereotype of the school shooter. While he may not have been popular, he had a small but close group of friends. They hung out a few times a week at one another’s houses, talking and watching TV. “The people saying he didn’t have any friends are just talking to each other,” says Jen Stately, 16, who wears Vans skateboarding sneakers and a metal stud in her lip. “They never talked to him. He was the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet.” Among the girls in the group, Weise was known as the rare boy who could talk about his feelings and listen to others. “He was always trying to help other people with their problems,” says Marissa White, 14. “When he talked, he made a lot of sense.”

 

“But Weise also lived in other worlds and, in postings made available by a number of websites after the shootings, had a disturbingly energetic online existence. In January 2004, he purportedly posted this message on a website: “I’ve been feeling a strong connection towards Nazi Germany, and it’s not necessarily the most pleasing thought, though I can’t help it. I feel like in a past life I was a German soldier.” Two months later, he seemed to have become much more comfortable with that identity, allegedly signing on to nazi.org first as Todesengel (German for angel of death) and then as NativeNazi. “I’ve always carried a natural admiration for Hitler and his ideals, and his courage to take on larger nations,” he wrote. Racial purity became an issue for him, and he lamented that Native American stock was being diluted by intermarriage….

 

“The drive to the front door of the high school took less than five minutes. Security guards LeeAnn Grant and Derrick Brun watched in shock as Weise drove right up to the door. Weise climbed out of the car and fired two shotgun blasts into the air. Grant started to run away from the door, herding students as she went. Brun, unarmed, walked toward Weise. The security guard was shot with the 12-gauge shotgun at point-blank range. Weise walked on, firing down the hallways. And then, in what seems to have been a random decision, Weise blasted the glass panel of Rogers’ study hall to find more targets and seal his fate….”  (Maag, Chris. “The Devil in Red Lake.” Time Magazine, 3-27-2005.)

 

Sources

 

Enger, John. “The shooting at Red Lake: What happened.” MPRnews, 3-18-2015. Accessed 9-28-2015 at: http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/18/red-lake-shooting-explained

 

Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Dept. of Justice. A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013. Washington, DC: 9-16-2013, 47 pages. Accessed 9-28-2015: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/september/fbi-releases-study-on-active-shooter-incidents/pdfs/a-study-of-active-shooter-incidents-in-the-u.s.-between-2000-and-2013

 

Helms, Marisa. “Shooting fuels debate over safety of Prozac for teens.” MPR, 3-25-2005. Accessed 1-15-2013: http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/03/25_helmsm_prozacfolo/

 

Maag, Chris. “The Devil in Red Lake.” Time Magazine, 3-27-2005. Accessed 1-15-2013 at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1042470,00.html?promoid=googlep

 

[1] Shooter killed nine people before committing suicide when confronted by police.

[2] FBI, U.S. DOJ. A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013. 9-16-2013.

— 11  NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires for 2005.” NFPA Journal, September/October 2006.

— 11  NFPA. The U.S. Fire Problem. “Home Fires with Ten or More Fatalities (1980-2007).” 2008.

— 11  USFA. Fatal Fires, Topical Fire Research Series, Vol. 5, Issue 1.  2005.  5.

 

Narrative Information

 

NFPA: “The largest loss of life residential fire [in 2005] killed 11 people, including three children under the age of six. This fire occurred in March in a two-story single-family townhouse.

 

“A 14-year-old woke to find his bed on fire. Once he told his uncle, the uncle removed the blanket and attempted to extinguish the fire. He then moved the burning mattress downstairs in an attempt to throw it outside. A second adult relative also came downstairs and attempted to open the front door but was not able to because of a deadbolt lock with which the family was unfamiliar. The uncle placed the mattress on some packed cardboard boxes and attempted to open the door. As the boxes started to burn, fire and smoke forced the two to exit using a rear door, which they left open. A third relative, carrying a small child, exited the structure by way of a second-story window. The adults went around to kick open the front door, but fire was already quickly engulfing the front room and spreading up the stairway to the second story. The victims were all found in second-story bedrooms and a bathroom. The fire began when the bedding was exposed to a candle on the windowsill. The family was just moving into the house and the power was not yet turned on, so candles were used for light.” (NFPA. “Multiple-Death Fires for 2005.”  NFPA Journal, September/October 2006.)

 

USFA: “A March 2005 townhouse fire in a New Orleans suburb resulted in the deaths of 11 members of a family. Four people were able to escape. The fire was caused by a candle igniting a mattress. Authorities said one of the family members tried to move the burning mattress down a flight of stairs, limiting vital escape time and contributing to the tragedy.” (USFA. Fatal Fires, 2005, p. 5.)

Sources

 

National Fire Protection Association. “Multiple-Death Fires for 2005.” NFPA Journal, September/October 2006. Accessed at: http://www.nfpa.org/publicJournalDetail.asp?categoryID=1301&itemID=29867&src=NFPAJournal

 

National Fire Protection Association. The U.S. Fire Problem. “Home Fires with Ten or More Fatalities (1980-2007).” Quincy, MA:  NFPA, April 2008 update. Accessed at:  http://www.nfpa.org:80/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=30981&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/The%20U.S.%20fire%20problem

 

United States Fire Administration. Fatal Fires, Topical Fire Research Series, Vol. 5, Issue 1.  March 2005, 7 pages. Accessed at: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/tfrs/v5i1.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

–11  Mikailian. “Officials look back at deadly 2005 train crash.” Glendale News-Press, 1-27-2015.

–11  National Transportation Safety Board. 2005 Annual Report to Congress. 2005, p. 63.

–11  Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (2000-2009).”

 

Narrative Information

 

Mikailian: “It’s been a decade since an SUV left on the tracks at Chevy Chase Drive caused one of Metrolink’s deadliest crashes, one that claimed 11 lives and shook the Glendale community….It was shortly after 6 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2005. Metrolink train 100 was heading southbound when it struck an SUV parked on the tracks near the Glendale and Los Angeles border. The train jackknifed and the resulting crash killed 11 while injuring nearly 200 more.

 

“Juan Manuel Alvarez, who told investigators he planned to commit suicide, changed his mind at the last minute and left his car behind. He is currently serving 11 consecutive life sentences….”

 

NTSB: “Man Drives Jeep onto Train Tracks to Cause a Derailment near Glendale, California.

 

“On January 26, 2005, a Metrolink Commuter train, consisting of one locomotive and four passenger cars, struck an unoccupied Jeep Cherokee near a public grade crossing. After striking the automobile, the train derailed and collided with a standing Union Pacific ballast train, which was tied down on a siding. No crew was on the Union Pacific train, which derailed and rolled onto its side. Because of the collision, the cars of the Metrolink train struck a passing westbound Metrolink train, which consisted of one locomotive and three passenger cars. Both trains, including all locomotives and passenger cars, derailed. There were 11 passenger fatalities.” (p63)

 

Wikipedia: “January 26, 2005 – Glendale train crash, California, United States: In what was originally thought to be a failed suicide attempt by an automobile driver, a southbound Metrolink double-deck commuter train collides with a vehicle that had been driven onto the tracks and derails; the derailed train strikes the northbound Metrolink train on the other track and a parked Union Pacific Railroad freight train on a siding. 11 people are killed, about 100 injured.” (Wikipedia.  “List of Rail Accidents (2000-2009).”)

 

Sources

 

Mikailian, Arin. “Officials look back at deadly 2005 train crash.” Glendale News-Press, 1-27-2015. Accessed 9-8-2015 at: http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-officials-look-back-at-deadly-2005-train-crash-20150127,0,726212.story

 

National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB 2005 Annual Report to Congress (NTSB/SPC-06/01). Washington, DC: NTSB, 2005, 104 pages. Accessed 9-8-2015 at: http://www.ntsb.gov/about/Documents/SPC0601.pdf

 

Wikipedia.  “List of Rail Accidents (2000-2009).” 8-14-2015 modification. Accessed 9-8-2015 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_accidents_%282000%E2%80%9309%29

— 10  NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Landslide, California, 10 Jan 2005.

— 10  Jibson, Randall W. Landslide Hazards at La Conchita, California. USGS 1-12-2013 mod.

 

Narrative Information

 

Jibson/USGS: “The 2005 La Conchita landslide occurred at about 12:30 p.m. on January 10. Little or no newly failed material was involved in the landslide; rather, it consisted of a remobilization of the southeastern portion of the 1995 landslide deposit, involving about 200,000 m³ (250,000 yd³) (James O’Tousa, RJR Engineering, personal commun., 2005). The landslide area was approximately 350 m (1,150 ft) long and 80—100 m (260—330 ft) wide. The landslide entered the La Conchita neighborhood destroying 13 houses and severely damaging 23 others… There were 10 confirmed fatalities.”

 

NCDC: “A powerful Pacific storm brought heavy rain, snow, flash flooding, high winds and landslides to Central and Southern California. During the 5 day event, rainfall totals ranged from 3 to 10 inches over coastal areas with up to 32 inches in the mountains. With such copious rainfall, flash flooding was a serious problem across Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. In Santa Barbara county, flash flooding and mudslides closed Gibraltar Road at Mt. Calvary Road, stranding several vehicles, while mudslides inundated 3 homes in Lake Casitas. Across Ventura county, flash flooding and mudslides closed down Creek Road at Hermosa Road. In addition, the Ventura Beach RV Resort was flooded and Highways 1 and 126 were closed due to flooding.

 

“Across Los Angeles county, flash flooding killed a homeless man in Elysian Park, flooded a mobile home park in Santa Clarita, closed Highway 1 and caused numerous problems in Palmdale. In the mountains, 4 to 12 feet of snowfall was recorded along with southeast winds between 30 and 50 MPH with higher gusts. Across the Central Coast and in the Salinas River Valley, high winds gusting to 65 MPH knocked down numerous trees and power lines.

 

“In La Conchita, a devastating mudslide killed 10 people, destroyed 15 homes and damaged 12 other homes. Overall, damage estimates for the entire series of storms that started December 27th, 2004 and ended on January 11th, 2005 were easily over $200 million with the most damage incurred by agricultural interests in Ventura county.” (NCDC/NOAA. Event Record Details, Landslide, California, 10 Jan 2005.)

 

Sources

 

National Climatic Data Center. Event Record Details, Landslide, California, 10 Jan 2005. Accessed 2-3-2009: http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~566500

 

Jibson, Randall W. Landslide Hazards at La Conchita, California. U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, Open-File Report 2005-1067, 2005, 1-12-2013 modification, 12 pages. Accessed 9-8-2015 at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1067/pdf/OF2005-1067.pdf

 

— 9  Dunning and Oswalt. “Train Wreck and Chlorine Spill in Graniteville, South Carolina.” 130

— 9  NTSB. Collision of Norfolk Southern Freight Train 192…Graniteville, SC, 11-29-2005.

 

Narrative Information

 

Dunning and Oswalt: “The 2005 railroad chlorine spill in Graniteville, South Carolina, killed ‘only’ nine people, but it illustrated the difficulties of achieving adequate capacity to handle no-notice evacuation for hazardous materials incidents. This research uses Graniteville as a case study to highlight needs for building capacity in evacuation capabilities and transportation recovery. Rail operational concepts emerged, such as the need for positive train control and automatic warning technology. The local community faced several challenges, including a lack of public understanding of how to react to a chlorine spill (even though chlorine traversed the town daily), public necessity for basic transportation to work after the evacuation, and a need for documentation of transportation infrastructure to facilitate recovery. Finally, evacuation issues arose, such as how to determine whether to shelter in place or evacuate, what routes would protect or harm people given different hazardous materials and how they behave in a spill, and the role of transportation professionals in working with emergency responders to manage evacuation. Experience and lessons learned from Graniteville can help define a national research agenda for the transportation requirements of no-notice and hazardous-materials evacuation.” P. 130.

 

NTSB: “About 2:39 a.m. eastern standard time on January 6, 2005, northbound Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) freight train 192, while traveling about 47 mph through Graniteville, South Carolina, encountered an improperly lined switch that diverted the train from the main line onto an industry track, where it struck an unoccupied, parked train (NS train P22). The collision derailed both locomotives[1] and 16 of the 42 freight cars of train 192, as well as the locomotive and 1 of the 2 cars of train P22. Among the derailed cars from train 192 were three tank cars containing chlorine, one of which was breached,[2] releasing chlorine gas.” [3] (NTSB 11/29/2005, ii)

 

“The ninth car from the locomotive units, containing 90 tons of chlorine, was punctured during the derailment and released chlorine gas. Winds were light at the time of the accident, and the chlorine vapor cloud settled in the low-lying valley along the tracks.[4] Based on emergency responder observations and the locations of those receiving fatal injuries, the cloud extended at least 2,500 feet to the north; 1,000 feet to the east; 900 feet to the south; and 1,000 feet to the west. The sudden release and expansion of the escaping gas caused the product remaining in the tank to auto-refrigerate and remain in the liquid state, slowing the release of additional gas.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 11)

 

“Nine persons, including the train 192 engineer, died from chlorine gas inhalation as a result of the accident.  Of the eight civilians who received fatal injuries, six were employees of Avondale Mills facilities to the west and north of the accident site, one was a truck driver at one of the plant facilities to the west of the site, and one was in a residence south of the site.”[5]  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 17)

 

“A review of the causes of death of the fatalities occurring in the field revealed that the mechanism of death for all the fatalities was asphyxia that occurred within minutes of exposure to the chlorine gas. This finding suggests that many, if not all, of the civilian fatalities in this accident occurred within the minutes that elapsed before emergency responders arrived on the scene or were able, because of the toxic fumes, to begin a safe search and rescue effort.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 40)

 

“About 554 people complaining of respiratory difficulties were taken to local hospitals. Of these, 75 were admitted for treatment. Because of the chlorine release, about 5,400 people within a 1-mile radius of the derailment site were evacuated for several days. Total damages exceeded $6.9 million.  The safety issues addressed in the report are railroad accidents attributable to improperly lined switches and the vulnerability, under current operating practices, of railroad tank cars carrying hazardous materials.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, ii)

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the January 6, 2005, collision and derailment of Norfolk Southern train 192 in Graniteville, South Carolina, was the failure of the crew of Norfolk Southern train P22 to return a main line switch to the normal position after the crew completed work at an industry track. Contributing to the failure was the absence of any feature or mechanism that would have reminded crewmembers of the switch position and thus would have prompted them to complete this final critical task before departing the work site.

 

“Contributing to the severity of the accident was the puncture of the ninth car in the train, a tank car containing chlorine, which resulted in the release of poisonous chlorine gas.  The safety issues identified in this investigation are as follows:

 

• Railroad accidents attributable to improperly lined switches;
• The vulnerability, under current operating practices, of railroad tank cars carrying hazardous materials.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, ii)

 

“After the accident, the FRA [Federal Railroad Administration] issued Safety Advisory 2005-01, which urged railroads to review their operating rules and take certain steps to ensure that crews using manually operated switches leave those switches in the proper position when their work is complete. The advisory referenced rules already implemented by the BNSF and UP railroads requiring that crews inform dispatchers of switch positions or inform them that switches had been properly relined before reporting clear of main line track. These rules were developed because of accidents similar to the one at Graniteville. The FRA also urged the use of a switch position reporting form to be filled out by the conductor before reporting clear of main line track.” (NTSB 11/29/2005, 44)

 

“While any operating rule change designed to enhance safety is welcomed, the Safety Board does not believe that rule changes or the use of forms is sufficient to prevent recurrences of accidents such as the one at Graniteville. The Safety Board notes that only 2 days after the Graniteville accident, a BNSF freight train was unexpectedly diverted into an industrial siding in California where it struck two loaded cars and derailed. This accident occurred less than 3 months after the BNSF implemented the rule referenced in the FRA advisory, a rule similar to those the FRA is urging other railroads to adopt and to the rules adopted by the NS after the accident. The Safety Board further notes that the UP had also adopted such a rule before the issuance of the advisory, but this did not prevent the September 15, 2005, collision of a southbound UP freight train with a standing local train in Shepherd, Texas, that resulted in a fatality and several injuries.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 45)

 

“As previously noted, the 9th of 42 cars in the train was struck and punctured by the coupler of the 11th car transporting steel coils. The combined weight of the striking steel coil car and the rest of the trailing cars in the train was about 2,618 tons. The estimated impact speed was determined to be about 42 mph. This combination of mass and velocity subjected the punctured chlorine tank car to severe impact forces during the derailment, with the most concentrated forces being applied in the area struck by the coupler….the punctured car was among the strongest tank cars currently in service. The Safety Board therefore concludes that, as shown in the Graniteville accident, even the strongest tank cars in service can be punctured in accidents involving trains operating at moderate speeds.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 50-51)

 

Sources

 

Dunning, A.E. and J. L. Oswalt. “Train Wreck and Chlorine Spill in Graniteville, South Carolina.” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2009. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, 2007, pp. 130-135. Accessed 9-8-2015: http://www.transportation.gov/highlights/disaster-recovery/train-wreck-and-chlorine-spill-graniteville-south-carolina

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Railroad Accident Report. Collision of Norfolk Southern Freight Train 192 With Standing Norfolk Southern Local Train P22 with Subsequent Hazardous Materials Release at Graniteville, South Carolina January 6, 2005 (NTSB/RAR-05/04). Washington, DC: NTSB, Nov 29, 2005. At: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2005/RAR0504.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

[1] The P22 “was propelled about 217 feet northward (along the track) by the impact.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 20)

[2] Punctured by the coupler of the 11^th car.  (NTSB, 11/29/2005, p. 49)

[3] “…chlorine is a poisonous gas, an oxidizer, and a marine pollutant….If inhaled, chlorine will react with moisture in the respiratory tract and lungs to form hydrochloric acid, resulting in inflammation of these tissues. Severe exposure can result in pulmonary edema, suffocation, and death.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 28)

[4] The vaporization of liquefied chlorine at 32º F at atmospheric pressure can generate a gaseous cloud with a volume 450 times greater than the volume of the liquid released.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 49)   “Because gaseous chlorine is 2 1/2 times heavier than air, the toxic cloud tended to settle in low areas around the railroad tracks and remain more concentrated in these areas.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 50)

[5] “The coroner’s investigation reports for the eight deceased civilians all listed the probable cause and mechanism of death as asphyxia, which occurred within .minutes of exposure, with secondary/contributing factors that included exposure to chlorine gas. The locomotive engineer survived the collision but died several hours later. The coroner’s

investigation report listed the probable cause and mechanism of death of the engineer as lactic acidosis with secondary/contributing factors that included exposure to chlorine gas.”  (NTSB 11/29/2005, 18)