Katrina: New Orleans left to the dead and dying

Tens of thousands of people had been evacuated from the city, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry said as many as 120,000 hurricane refugees were in 97 shelters across the state, with another 100,000 in Texas hotels and motels. Others were in Tennessee, Indiana and Arkansas.

Good to see that so many people have been evacuated and that evacuation continues. But it looks to me that fatalities are going to be in the (low? high?) double-digit thousands in the city of New Orleans. If you have seen newsreel you will know there are thousands of buildings totally submersed. Many people will have immediately drowned in such structures. There must be others who managed to survive. Isolated as they were, many of those, however, will have subsequently succumbed: through injury or lack of medical attention for chronic illness, for want of food, or by dehydration as the result of a deficiency of potable water. Sad, so sad.

"The first few days were a natural disaster. The last four days were a man-made disaster," said Phillip Holt, 51, who was rescued from his home Saturday with his partner.

Full AP report.