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Katrina Responsible for More Deaths

The 2006 hurricane season is fast approaching, merely days away from its official season beginning. A new tally of deaths caused by the devastating Hurricane Katrina has been taken, and according to the Louisiana state health authorities, 281 more deaths have been reported from last year`s number. Causes related to the storm and subsequent aftermath of the disaster were taken into account in this toll, showing a rise in deaths.

The recent numbers of victims were Louisianans who escaped to neighboring states after the August 29 storm. Authorities say the displacement of the individuals who were mostly elderly would have survived had their lives not been interrupted so categorically.

Most of the newly reported deaths - 223 - come from Texas, which received the majority of Katrina evacuees, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals say most the recent tally come from Texas, the state that saw the most amount of evacuees. The number of storms tied to Katrina among the hardest hit state in the Gulf Coast, rises to 1,577. While 170 more deaths in Mississippi are blamed on Katrina as well.