In this ruined city, reduced to such an unlivable state that its mayor wants all remaining residents gone, searchers made their way through 90 percent of the inundated neighborhoods. So far they have confirmed two dead, with four others undetermined. Thousands of homes have yet to be reached.
Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas warned that her city was heading toward a "downward spiral" and is not fit for habitation. Residents who evacuated are not being allowed back.
"There is nothing to come here for right now," Thomas said. "Please leave. I am asking people to leave."
Meanwhile, the hunt for survivors goes on. Searchers have accounted for 1,500 thus far in a house-to-house operation.
The death toll is expected to rise as the waters recede and searchers are able to cover more areas, said city officials, who brought in a refrigerated mobile morgue.
September 16, 2008 4:10 AM
