Where Are The Missing People from Hurricane Ike?

Five days following a direct hit from Ike, search and rescue teams have evacuated many people and recovered five dead. Still, many are missing and even believed to have been washed away. And the common question remains: "Has anyone seen.....?"

Since a few days following Hurricane Ike's devastation to Galveston, TX, there has been some speculation about the rising death toll and those who are still missing. In a news report today, it was said that some may have simply washed away. With around 90,000 people who ignored the mandatory evacuation order in three affected counties in Texas and viewing the devastating effects this storm left behind, it leaves some wondering why the toll isn't higher. According to the AP report:

Nobody is suggesting that tens of thousands died, but determining what happened to those unaccounted for is a painstaking task that could leave survivors wondering for months or years to come.

Authorities concede that at least some of those who haven't turned up could have been washed out to sea, as at least one woman on the peninsula apparently was, and that other bodies might still be found.

With search and rescue efforts geared towards saving those who were still alive, the death toll could rise as the focus turns towards the missing. Strong reliance on Red Cross shelters and workers to connect the missing with queries about loved ones will likely begin as they have access to information regarding individuals who have evacuated or have been evacuated. It isn't unlikely that many individuals and families haven't been able to make contact with extended family members around the nation just due to the nature of having to file claims, move from shelters to hotels and just try to make some sense of the event. The Red Cross is setting up registries and running the welfare checks in conjunction with Texas Task Force 1, who has been going from door to door to see who does or doesn't answer.

photo by oneighteen

Hurricane Ike ripped through Galveston and coastal Texas, leaving devastation such as this display of a crumbled house.

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Searchers found residents who gave accounts of other residents who stayed behind and are missing but as they tried to obtain more information, they received conflicting stories, lending to the overall frustration that the search teams must be feeling. Other reports from survivors who ignored the order to leave tell the tale of witnessing their friends being " wrenched from the rafters by the storm's fury and swept out to sea." All adding to the unaccounted but not to the tally. In Galveston County alone, approximately 15,000 people stayed to go head-to-head with Ike. Hurricane Katrina left behind the dead who were found over a year after her fury. Katrina's death toll calculations stopped at 1,600. With cleanup efforts, search and rescue teams and general post-hurricane activity underway, other problems have begun to take light with The Galveston County Daily News criticizing the city's mayor for handling the crisis and claiming:

Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas has handled the emergency powers she has, quote, "admirably" but he says the city is stumbling badly in its obligation to provide full, accurate and timely information.

The editorial said there's not enough information available to citizens and media.

Tillotson wrote the information vacuum is leading to rumors among residents and speculation that the media clampdown is politically motivated.

An aftermath all of which has a familiar sound.