Bodies in New Orleans

[Peter Pedant]

Can anyone over there - stateside but I think it could be soupside, tell me why bodies arent being collected in the flooded city, even though all sorts of other things are going on?

The answer can't be: we have better things to do - they havent, it represents an immense health hazard.

[woofgang]

I thought that they were, they have certainly sent in bodybags and I heard on the news on friday that the body count wasn't as bad as they were expecting.

[january_bug]

They are being collected, just not all in one day.  It's taking time.  And they don't necessarily have better things to do, but they have 1,000,001 other things to do that are also very important.  Getting water to the living is important, as is getting them food, shelter and medical attention.  Evacuating other suvivors is vital as the water is already polluted.  Pumping out the water is crucial. 

They know, as well as we do, that the bodies are a massive health risk, but it's not just a case of act like Nicole Kidman and wriggle your nose... it will take weeks to clear the bodies... and for many of those people, the water needs to be cleared before they will even be found. 

[Clanad]

Additionally, finding the bodies has presented a problem.  It appears that , in an attempt to escape the rising flood waters, many people, at least in New Orleans, went into the attics of their homes.  The waters rose to near the levels of the attic and stayed there, preventing any escape.  The temperatures for the next several days rose into the mid 90's F. 

Specially trained cadaver dogs and their handlers are on scene to locate them.  Thankfully, the body counts, so far, is far less than expected...