NEW ORLEANS — A public health emergency was declared for the entire Gulf Coast Wednesday as New Orleans officials estimated that hundreds, if not thousands, of city residents were killed by Hurricane Katrina (search) and the storm's aftermath.
Calling life in the aftermath of Katrina "very dangerous," federal officials said they rushed food, medicine and water to the victims as part of a wide-ranging government rescue-and-relief response.
"We know there is a significant number of dead bodies in the water," and other people dead in attics, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said. Asked how many, he said: "Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands."
As the flooding in New Orleans grew worse by the minute Wednesday, engineers scrambled to plug two broken levees and rescuers searched for survivors along the Gulf Coast.
President Bush flew over the devastated areas in Air Force One on his way back to the White House from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Bush may visit areas hardest hit by Katrina on Friday or Saturday.
"It's totally wiped out," Bush told aides at one point during the flight.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (search) has ordered everyone in New Orleans — many of which have been huddled in the Superdome and other rescue centers — to leave. As many as 25,000 people were going to be bused from the Superdome to the Houston Astrodome in Texas. Click here for more on that story.
Blanco said she wanted the Superdome evacuated within two days but it was still unclear where the people would go.
"There's a whole bunch of misery and everything else" in New Orleans, one refugee told FOX News. "How the hell can they leave when they don't have a way to leave? They need rescue now — not tomorrow, now."
The air conditioning inside the Superdome was out, the toilets were broken, and tempers were rising in the sweltering heat. Sewage could be seen seeping out of manholes in downtown New Orleans.
"We have a huge problem and until we have that breach under control, we will continue to have a problem," Blanco told FOX News Wednesday morning.
"One of the reasons we're asking people to leave is it's getting more and more difficult to get things like water and basic things to them … it's just a very trying time for everybody. We're trying to minimize the impact. We've got to vacate the people out of the Superdome today and tomorrow — that's about 20,000 people that need to be moved."
Sections of Interstate 10, the only major freeway leading into New Orleans from the east, lay shattered, dozens of huge slabs of concrete floating in the floodwaters.
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