Katrina damaged almost half-million homes

BILOXI, Miss. – Hurricane Katrina damaged or demolished nearly half a million homes in three states, the American Red Cross said Wednesday – four times as many as Hurricane Andrew did when it hit South Florida in 1992.

As President Bush prepared to speak to the nation from an undisclosed location in the disaster zone tonight at 6 p.m. PDT, environmental and fiscal challenges continued to mount along the Gulf Coast, and Louisiana launched a massive investigation of health-care facilities where patients who weren’t evacuated died after the storm.

The Red Cross’ attempt to quantify the wreckage in Katrina’s aftermath found a swath of destruction that extended 150 miles inland, with entire neighborhoods flattened and flooded. Mississippi suffered damage to as many as one out of five homes.

Altogether, more than 240,000 homes in Louisiana, another 240,000 in Mississippi and 1,700 in Alabama got hit in some way, the Red Cross said. Hurricane Andrew, which until now was the costliest storm in U.S. history, damaged about 125,000 homes.

The six Mississippi counties closest to the coast saw the most widespread destruction, with one out of three houses wrecked or completely wiped out. More than 80 percent suffered damage.

“You look at communities like Pass Christian – almost everything is gone,” said John McFarland, former chairman of the state’s Red Cross chapter. “Hancock County – almost everything is gone.”

The hurricane’s death toll stood at just over 700 on Wednesday, but officials in New Orleans warned that more bodies might still be found.

In other Katrina-related news:

“Louisiana prosecutors are probing New Orleans-area nursing homes and hospitals to determine if they neglected their patients as Katrina slammed ashore.

Investigators are looking into the deaths of 14 patients at the LaFon Nursing Home in eastern New Orleans, said Kris Wartelle, spokeswoman for state Attorney General Charles Foti.

The investigation follows the arrest Tuesday of the husband-and-wife owners of St. Rita’s Nursing Home for negligent homicide. Thirty-four people, including many elderly patients, died at St. Rita’s as floodwaters reached the roof.

“The independent 9-11 Commission’s leaders, one Republican and one Democrat, jointly blasted the Bush administration, saying officials should have realized that Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophe of national proportions even before the storm struck and not waited for mayors and governors to ask for help.

Thomas Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, called it “a disappointing response. … It was obvious nobody knew who was in charge.”

“There will be no independent panel like the 9-11 Commission to study the government’s reaction to the storm – at least for now. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., moved on Wednesday to create one, but Senate Republicans blocked her.

Democrats expect to try again and say they’ll resist any congressional review that doesn’t include equal representation from both parties.

“Two Republican senators, along with former New Orleans Democratic mayor and current Urban League president Marc Morial, urged the president to appoint a “recovery czar” to oversee federal hurricane relief and rebuilding.

“When this much money gets put out this fast,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., “there’s a real danger of waste, fraud and abuse.”

“The New Orleans public school system and city government both say they’re running out of money and can’t pay their employees.

Mayor Ray Nagin said the city is trying to secure a line of credit or federal assistance to keep New Orleans operating through year’s end

“Louisiana’s top environmental official said the testing of floodwaters and sediment in New Orleans and its suburbs has found high levels of bacterial contamination, but that toxic chemicals and heavy metals are below levels of “acute concern.”