(From the diaries -- Plutonium Page. This is the magnitude of the tragedy.)
A collection of raw numbers that offer another glimpse on the magnitude of the events of the past week.
- # of days we eyed Katrina before she reached the US Gulf Coast on 8/28: 7
- # of days since hurricane Katrina slammed into the US Gulf Coast: 5
- # of days before US federal government response: 4
- # of months in hurricane season: 6 [ends Nov. 30]
- # in line of named tropical storms/hurricanes for Katrina: 11
- # of current tropical storms/hurricanes in Atlantic basin: 13
- # of tropical depressions formed in Atlantic basin: 14
- Area covered by federal disaster declarations: 90,000 sq. miles
- Wind speed of Katrina as she struck LA on Monday: 140 mph
- # of Katrina's hurricane category at landfall: 4
- Combined length of NOLA hurricane levees: 350 miles
- Size of gap in NOLA's 17th Street Canal levee breach: 300 feet
- Depth of water covering parts of NOLA: 20 feet
- % of NOLA under water: 80%
- # of days engineers and crews expect to need to dry out NOLA: 36-80
Much more below the fold...
- Height of wall of water to hit MS coast: 30 feet
- % of Biloxi/Gulfport, MS buildings wiped away by storm surge: 90%
- # of official deaths to date in MS: 126
- # of official deaths to date in AL: 2
- # of official deaths in FL: 11
- # of deaths estimated in NOLA: up to 10,000
- # of people listed on Nola.com's Missing Persons Forum by late Thursday: >7,400.
- # of corpses collected in St. Bernard Parish: 100
- # of above corpses tethered together to keep from floating away: 25
- # of federal public health specialists to be deployed throughout Gulf Coast region in an attempt to ward off a variety of food- and water-borne diseases: ~500
- # of doses of tetanus vaccine sent to Mississippi by CDC: 8,000
- # of Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries boats used in St. Bernard search & rescue: 400
- # of St. Bernard residents rescued: 10,000 [of 66,000 total parish pop]
- # of people currently displaced: 1,000,000
- # of American Red Cross (ARC) shelters in MS: 101
- # of ARC shelters in LA: 90
- # of ARC shelters in AL: 31
- # of days military and local authorities have kept the ARC from entering NOLA: 5
- # of meals the ARC is serving to evacuees outside of NOLA: 500,000/per day
- # of people rescued by the Coast Guard from flooded areas and rooftops: 4,000
- # of helicoptered-in victims that later died at NO Int'l Airport: ~100
- # evacuated from the Superdome, shelters and highways: 50,000
- # of people who'd gathered at the Superdome for evacuation: 60,000
- # of Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton guests moved to head of Superdome's evac line: 700
- # of people remaining in Superdome stadium [as of 11pm 9/2]: 2,000
- # of days FEMA head Michael Brown was unaware people had been evacuated to the Convention Center: 3
- # of bodies strewn outside the Convention Center: at least 7
- # of survivors still stranded in Convention Center [as of 11pm 9/2]: 15,-20,000
- # of days for Army National Guard troops to arrive in downtown NOLA: 4
- # of people transported out of NOLA on buses by Friday night: 1,000 per hour
- # of deaths on overturned bus [near Lafayette, LA] carrying evacuees to Dallas: 1
- # of displaced students registered for public school classes in Lafayette, LA by Thurs.: 1,469
- # of displaced students registered for classes in East Baton Rouge, LA in 4 hours: 300
- # est. of Katrina evacuees in Houston hotels: 55,000
- # of Katrina evacuees in Memphis: 10,000 [using 25% of 21,000 hotel rooms]
- # of empty acres on Bush's ranch: 1600
- % of 8-mi Twin Span bridge connecting NOLA with Slidell, LA collapsed into Lake Pontchartrain: 40%
- # of destroyed miles on U.S. Highway 90 running along Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Pascagoula, MS: 100
- % of 2,200 hotel rooms occupied by evacuees in Tuscaloosa, AL: near 100%
- # of people in MS, LA, AL, and FL still without electricity: 2.3 million
- # of local and out-of-state utility workers spreading out across southeastern LA: 6,000
- # of residents in the city of NOLA: 460,000
- # est. people trapped in NOLA alone: 80,000
- # of tanker/other vessels held up at mi. 235 on Mississippi River until Friday: 90
- # of people China moved out of the way of Typhoon Aere: 937,000
- # of people Cuba moved out of the way of Hurricane Ivan: 1.3 million
- # of people per hour dying in NOLA's city hospitals: 8-10
- # of NOLA hospital patients airlifted out of city yesterday: 438
- # of people evacuated to safety on Chalmette Slip during the flood - 1,500
- # of those evacuated above that died waiting for food and water - 100
- # of trucks dispatched to NOLA: 1,300
- Length of Friday's military-led aid convoy: 8 miles
- # of meals-ready-to-eat sent to the area: 17.1 million
- # of meals served per day at the Biloxi, MS Salvation Army: 1,200
- # of BellSouth Corp. Gulf Coast customers without service: 1.6 million
- # of BellSouth Corp. Gulf Coast customers with restored service: 150,000
- # of police radio channels being currently used in NOLA: 1
- # of agencies using NOLA's 1 open police radio channel: 20
- # of satellite-based wireless phones sent to Gulf Coast: 10,000
- # of satellite-based wireless phones in 3-state region pre-Katrina: few thousand
- # of foreign nations offering to help US: nearly 60
- $ Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered the Red Cross: $1,000,000
- # of doctors Cuba's President Fidel Castro offered to send: 1,100
- # of tons of medicine Cuba's Castro offered to send: 26
- $ charitable contributions collected for the victims of 9/11: ~$1 billion
- $ contributions to date from individuals, corporations, foundations: $400 million
- # of television networks jointly broadcasting last night's benefit concert: 6
- $ donated to victims by WalMart: $17 million
- $ donated to victims by GE: $6 million cash + $10 million in medical devices
- $ donated to victims by Toyota: $5 million
- $ donated to victims by Walt Disney Co. $2.5 million
- # of months GM and Ford will delay car payment collection for victims: 3
- # of projected payroll cuts this month due to Katrina aftermath: 500,000
- # of years since US last saw 500,000 jobs cut in a month: 30 years
- # of airlines who have begun evacuating residents of NOLA: 12 [biggest US airlift-rescue ever]
- % daily jet fuel production is down: 13%
- % jet fuel prices have increased this week: 19%
- Fraction of nation's oil produced by US Gulf Coast region: 1/3
- % of Gulf Coast oil production shut down currently: 91%
- # of possible barrels dumped in a major oil spill at mile marker 22 on the Mississippi River near Venice: 800,000 - 4 million [not determined as of yet]
- # of missing oil rigs in Gulf region: 30
- # of offshore oil platforms knocked from their moorings: 28
- # of oil rigs in gulf region: ~520
- # barrels of oil in strategic reserve: 700 million
- # barrels of oil released so far: 5 million
- $ avg. price of gasoline a year ago: $1.86
- $ avg. price of gasoline today: $3-$6 and up
- Fraction of nation's natural gas produced by US Gulf Coast region: 1/5
- % of Gulf gas production shut down currently: 83%
- Fraction of all grain produced in US that is exported out of the country: 1/4
- % of US grain exports handled by US Gulf Coast region: 60%
- # of top 12 US ports in the Gulf Coast region: 5
- Ranking of the South Louisiana port by US cargo volume: #1
- $ est. freight transport companies are losing due to closed ports: $3-4 million/day
- % of LA's oyster harvest lost: 2/3 [valued at $181 million]
- # of years it could take for the LA oyster crop to return: 2-3
- NOLA mortgage/real estate records feared lost dating back to: 1827
- # est. LA attorneys who've lost offices, files and other documents critical to civil and criminal legal cases: 6,000 (a full 2/3)
- $ tourists spent last year in NOLA: $5 billion
- % of Louisiana's tourism income coming from NOLA: 50%
- # of exercises conducted simulating hurricane hitting NOLA in 2004: at least 1
- # of articles in NOLA's Times Picayune series predicting fall-out of 'Big One': 5
- $ est. total economic losses caused by Katrina: - $100 billion
- $ amount on the relief funding bill signed by Bush: $10.5 billion
- $ est. insured damages for Hurricane Katrina: $50 billion
- $ Hurricane Andrew's total insured damages (after inflation): $43 billion
- $ spent shoring up levees, building pumping stations past decade: $430 million
- $ of crucial work still remaining, but underfunded due to Iraq War: $250 million
- $ Army Corp of Engineers request for NOLA hurricane/flood programs in 2004: $105 million
- $ amount the WH carved above request down to: $40 million
- $ value of pork-filled highway bill: $286.4 billion
- $ bill allocation to building Alaska bridge to uninhabited island: $231 million
- $ federal money spent on emergency preparedness following 9/11: $8.6 billion
- $ sent by Homeland Security to states to combat terrorism annually: $1.1 billion
- $ sent by Homeland Security to states to combat natural disasters: $180 million
- # of major disasters declared by the federal government since 1995: 562
- # of terrorist attacks out of the above: 2 [OK City, 9/11]
- % of terrorism grant money that may be spent on national disasters: 0
- $ 2005 FEMA budget: $5.038 billion
- # of NOLA police officers: 1,700
- # of National Guard (NG) members in LA: 11,700
- # of NG troops in MS: 7,800
- # of NG troops in AL: 2,000
- # of NG troops in FL: 700
- % of NG troops in Iraq: 30%
- % of NG equipment in Iraq: 50%
- # of additional NG forces to be sent by Pentagon: 30,000
- # of regular Army soldiers that may be sent by Pentagon: 3,000
- # of area military bases to be used for operations: 6
- # of Swift-boat teams being sent to Gulf Coast region: 8
- # of major disasters predicted by FEMA in 2001 that have already happened under Bush's watch: 2 out of 3
- % of those stuck in NOLA predicted to perish in above report: 10%
- % of WH officials/Cabinet Members on vacation 3 days after Katrina hit: 95%
- % of tolerance President Bush said looters would be treated with: 0
- % of tolerance we should show the Treasury-raiding Bush administration: 0
- # of deaths needed before the President orders all flags to half-staff: [?]
Sources:
Bloomberg: Conditions Improve in New Orleans; Thousands Still Await Help
Washington Post [DC]: New Orleans Cops Use Single Radio Channel
USAToday: Hotels `Bursting at Seams' with Katrina Refugees
BBC News: US Counting the Cost of Katrina
Reuters: Bodies, Gunfire and Chaos in New Orleans' Streets
Reuters: Hope Emerges for New Orleans But Struggles Remain
The Mercury News [San Jose, CA]: New Orleans Police Begin to Show Signs of Stress
CTV.ca: Mississippi Struggles to Deal with Dead Bodies
NDTV [India]: Anger Grows After Katrina Devastation
The Economic Times: US Still Reeling Under Katrina's Fury
LA Times [CA]: Front and Center
Houston Chronicle [TX]: Troops Arrive: Superdome Evacuation Halted
New York Times: Conditions in New Orleans Still Dire - Pumping May Take Months
London Telegraph: The Relief of New Orleans
Miami Herald [FL]: Terror War May Have Hurt Storm Response
LA Times: Businesses Donating in Great Numbers
Philadelphia Daily News [PA]: Attywood: When the Levee Breaks
The National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Climatology
Houston Chronicle [TX]: National Guard General Faces Tough Questions
New York Times: United States of Shame
Baltimore Sun [MD]: Coast Under Water, FEMA Under Fire
Newsday [NY]: New Orleans Levees No Match for Katrina
Nola.com [LA]: More Guns, Buses, Relief Roll into City
Louisiana.gov: Katrina Devastated Area Infrustructure
ChannelNewsAsia [Singapore]: Typhoon Aere: Heavy Damage But Few Casualties in China as Taiwan death Toll Rises
MSNBC: Cuba Mostly Spared Ivan's Wrath
CNN: Presidential Gas Bill Gets Steeper
Whitehouse.gov: Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana
Peoria Star Journal [IL]: Red Cross Helps Out Despite Setbacks
KHON2 [Honolulu, HI]: Crisis Worsens in New Orleans
GovExec.com [Washington, DC]: National Guard, Corps of Engineers Move Into New Orleans
One last set of numbers. 1-800-HELP-NOW
[Cross-posted at My Left Wing]