Katrina Victims:  Half Were 75 or Older

  As New Orleans residents warily track another
threatening storm, a new report presents the clearest picture yet
of deaths from Katrina in Louisiana.

    It says nearly 1,000 people died in the city, and nearly half
were at least 75 years old.

    Most died on the day of the storm - August 29, 2005. And
drowning was the leading cause. ore than one-third died in homes.

    It’s based on death certificates listing Katrina as the main or
contributing cause and data from a federal disaster response team.
The researchers counted 971 Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana,
mostly in New Orleans, and 15 deaths among residents who fled out
of state.

    Authors include Dr. Raoult Ratard, Louisiana’s state
epidemiologist.

    It says elderly residents who may have thought the warnings were
a false alarm, feared their homes might be looted if they left, or
just didn’t want to leave for the unknown.

    In addition, it says, older people were more vulnerable and
frail and unable to fight the catastrophic storm.

    The study was published online Thursday and will appear in the
October print edition of the journal Disaster Medicine and Public
Health Preparedness.

    It covers the period from two days before the hurricane struck
until October 31st, 2005. It includes deaths in car crashes on
evacuation routes and from injuries suffered during the storm.

    The previously reported death toll for all Katrina victims has
been put at 1,698. That includes bodies collected in Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama, and Louisiana residents who died in other
states in the month after Katrina.