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'Take care of the kids and grandkids'Victims deal with deaths of loved ones, devastation
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EMERGENCY NUMBERSPeople trying to get information about loved ones in Mississippi should call the American Red Cross, at 1-866-GET-INFO (338-4636).
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- For many of the victims of Hurricane Katrina, nothing is left. Harvey Jackson, of Biloxi, Mississippi, told CNN affiliate WKRG-TV that he believed his wife was killed after she was ripped from his grasp when their home split in half. "She told me, 'You can't hold me,' ... take care of the kids and the grandkids," he said, sobbing. (Watch video of the man describing the loss of his wife -- 1:07) Harriet Leckich, also of Biloxi, visited her property and said, "Everything is gone." "There's no sign of our car that was in the driveway," Leckich said. "It's just phenomenal, because nothing was recognizable. The waterline was so far back, and there were cars that had been pushed into the sea wall. There was an airplane from Keesler [Air Force Base] that was almost in the railroad." Leckich said six trees near her home, which was built in 1945, also were gone. (Watch video of the woman describing how her home was flattened -- 1:37.) Another Biloxi resident, Suzanne Rodgers, who lived in a two-story, brick apartment near the beach, told CNN's Paula Zahn on Monday that the entire building was swept away. "All I found that belonged to me was a shoe," she said. "There's nothing left." (Read interview) Biloxi, with a population of 51,000 on the Gulf of Mexico, was among the hardest hit by Katrina. It came ashore Monday morning near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line as a Category 4 hurricane with 145 mph winds and heavy rain, swamping entire towns. Charles Curtis, who works in a local casino that was also split in half, said he and his wife stood on top of their refrigerator as the water rose around them. He added that a menagerie of animals gathered in the safety of his porch after the storm. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said that reports of 50 to 80 deaths in Harrison County," which includes Biloxi, appeared credible. (Full story) Funeral homes in Gulfport had received 26 bodies since Monday, said Jason Green of the Harrison County Coroner's office. He said residents had reported finding bodies upon their return home or were bringing them directly to the funeral homes. In the small town of Bay St. Louis, search and rescue crews put black marks on homes known to contain bodies because there weren't enough refrigerated trucks to remove the corpses. In Florida, Katrina left 11 people dead; in Alabama, two deaths were reported. Louisiana officials so far have not even tried to estimate how many people were killed in the storm. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said that some 700 people had been rescued during the night and that hundreds more were likely trapped -- or didn't survive. "This is a tragedy of great proportions, greater than any we've seen in our lifetimes," she said. " ... We have no counts whatsoever, but we know many lives have been lost." In downtown New Orleans, Tulane University Hospital employees were forced to carry patients to the roof of the hospital's parking garage, since elevators were not working, a spokeswoman said. Meanwhile, "our employees' cars are being looted in the same garage," Karen Troyer Caraway added. One man told The Associated Press that he was in New Orleans' 9th Ward boarding house where at least at least two people appeared to be dead. Frank Mills, 56, said he was able to make it to the roof of the porch, but while making his escape he saw one woman floating face up and while on the roof a man slipped from his grasp and presumably died, the AP reported. "He was kind of on the edge of the roof, catching his breath," Mills told the AP. "Next thing I knew he came floating past me. ... I don't know if he drowned or had a heart attack." A survivor who made it to the Louisiana Superdome in downtown New Orleans described to the AP bashing a hole in the roof of her home with an ax. "Oh my God, it was hell," said Kioka Williams, 23, according to the AP. "We were screaming, hollering, flashing lights. It was complete chaos." In Alabama, Hurricane Katrina spared the state the devastation it left behind in neighboring Mississippi and Louisiana. Nonetheless, more than 656,000 electric customers were without power Tuesday, and the state's homeland security director described the damage there "extensive." (Full story) Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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