Katrina Victims Are Buried, 3 Years After

Nearly 80 Bodies Entombed In Memorial To Be Dedicated On Anniversary Of 2005 Storm

(CBS/AP)  The unclaimed bodies of close to 80 victims of Hurricane Katrina have finally been entombed - nearly three years after the storm - by a group of funeral home owners who said they took it upon themselves to inter the remains because they felt the city and coroner's office were too slow to do so.

Workers scrambled to complete the memorial by Friday's third anniversary of the storm on what was vacant land just five weeks ago. Six mausoleums make up part of the memorial located at the end of a historic streetcar line.

Many believed the fatigued city would have no place to inter the 85 bodies. The city coroner, already grappling with one of the nation's worst murder rates, was placed in charge of the $1.2 million effort last year and progress was slow. The inactivity was seen as another example of the sluggish climate that has characterized the city's rebuilding from the 2005 storm that killed 1,600 people, half of whom were at least 75 years old, according to a new report.

C.C. Johnson, a mortician at Littlejohn Funeral Home, said the remains were entombed Thursday.

Seven bodies remain unburied. They are to be carried to the site on Friday during a jazz funeral that will be part of the dedication.

The memorial itself, bucolic and shaped like the eye of a hurricane, may or may not be fully complete when they arrive.

"We're playing everything by ear. We'll sit down with a big sigh of relief, whenever and however it's completed," said Coroner Frank Minyard. He said obstacles as slight as a day of rain could cause the deadline to be missed.

New Orleans jazz trumpeter Irvin Mayfield Jr., whose father drowned in the storm, said the city's decision to honor the forgotten victims of Katrina shows its spirit.

"These folks get to be mourned, get to be remembered, and get to be honored," he said. "It speaks volumes."

Remembering The Forgotten

Mayor Ray Nagin allotted $1 million in federal aid money to the effort during last-year's second-anniversary ceremonies, and although about $200,000 in private donations also came in, the project was largely forgotten.

But in the past several weeks, construction permits have been issued and topsoil cleared. Human bone fragments have been recovered and meticulously documented, according to state regulations, from the old Charity Hospital site that formerly was a paupers' graveyard.

Fifty-four of the 85 bodies have been identified. Some have gone unclaimed because family members have been lost in the massive relocation Katrina triggered. Or they have decided to leave burial to the coroner because they were either too poor, or were too estranged from the deceased, to do so themselves.

Plaques with the names of the storm victims were supposed to be part of the memorial. But Minyard is unsure if that will still be built. Defining a Katrina-related fatality carries legal ramifications, affects life insurance policies and public aid. Some drowned, some died from exposure, and others died weeks later from apparent physical stress during the evacuation.

Ted George, a New Orleans lawyer who has worked pro bono on the project, said he is confident plaques will come after project coordinators look more closely at records. George said whether the memorial is completed Friday, or later, Minyard and others should be given credit for getting this far.

Not only were there the physical barriers to construction, but the city had to prove to Louisiana State University, which owned and donated the grounds, there would be perpetual care at the site. About $250,000 was placed in an investment fund for the care, George said. The project also has about $150,000 in reserves should unexpected construction costs, or added features to the design surface later.

He said New Orleans has honored its fallen well over the years.

"There's no doubt we have a real sense of history and depth," he said. "What's been really satisfying is so many people believe in this project. They will push it through."

Skittish About Gustav

It was three years ago Friday that Katrina slammed into New Orleans, its storm surge blasted through the levees that protect the city, killing 1,800 people. Eighty percent of the city was flooded.

Though pockets of the New Orleans are well on the way to recovery, many neighborhoods have struggled to recover. Many residents still live in temporary trailers, and shuttered homes still bear the "X" that was painted to help rescue teams looking for the dead.

(Left: Steps that once led to a home in the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, approximately 200 feet from where a floodwall broke, are all that remain, Aug. 4, 2008.)

Many people never returned, and the city's population, around 310,000 people, is roughly two-thirds what it was before the storm, though various estimates vary wildly.

Now residents in New Orleans and all along the Gulf Coast are keeping a nervous eye on Gustav as it barrels through the Caribbean.

CBS News correspondent Kathryn Brown reports that tropical storm is expected to grow into a major hurricane before taking aim at the U.S.

Gustav already left a path of devastation across Haiti and the Dominican Republic where 23 people died in flooding and landslides. It's expected to take direct aim at the Cayman Islands before heading into the Gulf of Mexico where it could strengthen into a major hurricane.

Sean Pittman of the lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans is still cleaning up his house from Katrina's floods. With the levee right across the street, he's now nervous, and told CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan that he doesn’t have faith the levee would hold in another storm.

"No, no. I don't trust them," he said.

[tothestars2]

http://newsbusters.org/node/2072


For the story.

[tothestars2]

Yeah, Obama got at least one thing right in his speech...on Bush''''s watch, "we saw a city drown before our eyes. (Heavy sigh) Let''s be practical here folks, it really wasn''t Bush''s fault The real culprit was the inept government of Nagin, and his failure to have a plan to evac the week and elderly in a city that lies below sea level. Also,the failure of governor Blanco to order a mandatory evac. Experts warned it would take 48 hours to evac and she and mayor Nagin waited till 20 hours before the hurricane hit to make a move. She then waited 48 hours after to ask for federal guard to help with evac and security. After that the ball was in Bush''s court. I''m sorry it happened but common sense has to prevail, and the real truth has to be spoken.

[barbaram99]

The thing that stands up in my mind was a senior begging for help right on TV. She needed medical care as she had disbetes and needs shots to control her disbetes..She did not live long..I WAS AND AM APPALLED. That isn''t all America was not there for them but she is if a nation out of America needs it. Right there.That old lady was thinking of others and she died. I was appalled. Greatest nation and to selfish to help herown. May the oouls now rest.

[barbaram99]

3 years later they bury the dead from that awful hurricain.. 3 years later.. I thot they were bury asap.THIS IS APPALLING. I am aware there was awful damages. After clean up the dead should have been put to rest. No if and or but.

[grizzster]

A report on the Katrina dead in LA was issued today, on the third aniiversary of the storm. It said that almost half the victims were over 75, and that the average age was 69. Hardly anyone under 18 died...very few little kids, either. So much for that myth.

They were too frail to leave, or had no transportation, or feared looters, or just thought it was all a lot of hooey and that NOLA was safe. I can''t believe that ALL these people had NO next of kin looking out for their welfare. The big one hits, and you don''t even think about taking care of Grandma and Gramps? The mind boggles...most of them drowned in their OWN HOMES. The grandkids and the kids dropped the ball...and it sank.

Grizzster

Grizzster

[grizzster]

Yeah, Obama got at least one thing right in his speech...on Bush''s watch, "we saw a city drown before our eyes." I saw some old New Orleans footage last night and it still blows me away. I spent days sitting in front of my TV watching in stunned disbelief. In some ways, it was more horrible than 9/11, especially in light of the fact that most people who drowned were fairly old...in their 60''s and 70''s.

How do you become so estranged from a relative that you ignore their passing? My wife''s cousin''s husband died suddenly, and his own parents refused to attend their son''s funeral. How and why anyone can be THAT p.o.ed at their kinfolk, is something only God can explain. And he ain''t sayin''.

Grizzster

[sly_64]

These ppl must have really stank !

[rushliberal]

So What - Bush, Cheney and Rove finally take these people off their Mantles?

[linfinster]

guess I''ll try to word it differently ... I think the fact that it was built over another grave site is "interesting." And the price of this endeavor when there is real suffering is appalling! Why are WE not doing more about this situation in our own country?

[linfinster]

wow guess they didn''t like my other comment ... don''t see it here ... and I thought I made a an interesting point ...

[linfinster]

GOOD point Grammto8.
And another thing loyalto1, it isn''t ALL about the monetary value. But really, most homes that actually made it thru the storm were structurally a mess, a cesspool of filth and mold, zero utility resources, bereft of personal belonging, if not looted or stolen or damaged. Hmm let''s see, no employment, an unreliable food source. Have I mentioned SAFTEY issues and MEDICAL issues ... no money.
How old are you? lol

[linfinster]

So..basically they buried a bunch of skeletons.... or creamated skeletons....

Posted by MANDALAY-BAY at 07:44 PM : Aug 28, 2008

... ON TOP of a bunch of OLD skeletons ... and it cost $1.5 million ..
..and it''s a cesspool of inhumanity there in that city. WHY ISN''T THAT IN THE NEWS CB''S?

[xlib]

erio2644-perhaps you don''t know how the system has always been set up to work. That is until the left and the msm shills used katrina for political gain. See, the first line of defense in disaster planning and response is LOCAL. That means if anyone dropped the ball it was NAGIN and his cronies. Next is the state and if you remember gov blanco had to be BEGGED by Bush to call out the Natioal Guard. As for FEMA, sweetie, they were never meant to be present DURING a disater, Think about it, where are they supposed to set up during a Cat 3 hurricane. Have a rational thought. FEMA is supposed to come in AFTER the disaster to assess damage. NOT before. But, since the government in NO is so inept maybe they should be taken under federal rule. How''s that.

Also, the citizens themselves are also repsonsible to be prepared and now they have 6 days warning. At least in Floida we were expected to be prepared and have a disaster plan of our own. Then again, we didn''t count on the government to fulfill all our needs. Good job, dems.

[gramto8]

The entire katrina thing has been insane. Their houses were flooded ( Big Deal ) it happends everday all over the world including in america! What I thought was interesting, when ask why they didn''''t leave before the storm - most said they didn''''t have CARS yet later after the storm they said they lost everything ( well if they didn''''t have a car losing everything must not have been much. What alot of average Americans don''''t realize is when you are poor your entire hose full of furniture is worth approximatly $1000 dollars P.S.
Posted by Loyalto1 at 07:36 PM : Aug 28, 2008

What you do not seem to realize is that it IS EVERYTHING they had!!!

[stevenga777]

They dug up a paupers cemetary to bury the Katrina victims? That is desecration and disrespect to the poor dead already buried there that were dug out. Were the paupers who were already buried there and dug up any less important?

[oneworldusa]

What a shame 80 ''unclaimed'' people were buried. Someone knows some of these 80 people, but couldn''t find them. May they rest in peace. Their city and mayor deserted them.

[mandalay-bay]

So..basically they buried a bunch of skeletons.... or creamated skeletons....

[tvgenius]

DemWatcher has the right idea. Anything below water level needs to be abandoned. It''d be cheaper to just buy out all that space than keep up this ludicrous cycle of repairs.

[loyalto1]

The entire katrina thing has been insane. Their houses were flooded ( Big Deal ) it happends everday all over the world including in america! What I thought was interesting, when ask why they didn''t leave before the storm - most said they didn''t have CARS yet later after the storm they said they lost everything ( well if they didn''t have a car losing everything must not have been much. What alot of average Americans don''t realize is when you are poor your entire hose full of furniture is worth approximatly $1000 dollars P.S.

[questionnews]

"Katrina Victims Are Buried, 3 Years After"

Since when did they start "burying" people in New Orleans?? On our pre-Katrina tour, someone asked "what are all those stone boxes in the cemetery?" the bus tour host told us that they don''t bury people in New Orleans because when it floods, the bodies get washed out & end up in random parts of the city, so they put them stone caskets on top of the ground.
Has that changed?