Katrina death toll reaches 970

2005-09-20 07:11

Baton Rouge, Louisiana - The death toll from Hurricane Katrina reached 970 on Monday with another 90 bodies recovered in the New Orleans region, authorities said.

The Louisiana state health department said that 736 fatalities had now been reported in New Orleans and surrounding districts from the August 29 storm.

Another 218 deaths have been recorded in Mississippi, two in Alabama and 14 in Florida, according to officials in those states.

The toll is expected to rise as more corpses are uncovered in the debris of New Orleans homes, although officials have backed away from early estimates that as many as 10,000 people may have perished.

- AFP