katrina

By the numbers:

As of yesterday, 1,386 deaths are attributed to the hurricane, with 6 more victims, Americans, Louisianians, found in the last week.

Katrina was an equal opportunity killer when it comes to race and ethnicity. However she was not equal opportunity when it comes to class: most of her victims were poor, regardless of race.

And while the focus is primarily on the urbanized areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans, we hear desperately little from the inland Delta region of Mississippi, and the lower parishes of Southeast Louisiana. Remember, at the height of the crisis the nearly entire state of Mississippi was without power.

Both Louisiana and Mississippi are going to be in a world of hurt this coming year with the lost revenue--Louisiana losing for all intents and purposes its largest city and Mississippi losing one of its largest sources of revenue.

6,644 people remain unaccounted for. 1,000 of them are children. Statistically many of these people could be alive, but FEMA is working with a deathtoll of roughly 3,000---equal to the last "worst day in American history," 9/11.

A horrible person in history once said "one death is a tragedy. 1,000 is a statistic." Actually I believe that's a paraphrase of what Stalin said.

But each of these numbers is a fellow American. A person. They have a story.

And I think their story is being forgotten as we move on into the election year. Let's keep Katrina in our minds this year, please.