Statistics Refute Claims That Race Was a Factor in Response to Hurricane Katrina

Remember all those media claims that race was a factor in the federal government’s “slow” response to Hurricane Katrina? Well, according to information released by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, whites died as a result of the devastating hurricane at the highest rate of any race living in New Orleans when measured as a function of population percentages.

As reported by Nathan Burchfiel of Cybercast News Service (hat tip to Drudge):

“According to the 2000 census, whites make up 28 percent of the city's population, but the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals indicates that whites constitute 36.6 percent of the storm's fatalities in the city.

“African-Americans make up 67.25 percent of the population and 59.1 percent of the deceased. Other minorities constitute approximately 5 percent of the population and represented 4.3 percent of the storm's fatalities.

“Overall for the state, 658 bodies have been identified. Forty-seven percent were African-American and 42 percent were Caucasian. The remaining bodies were either non-black minorities or undetermined.”