Details about this story

• Source: Scripps Howard News Service
• Date: February 21, 2008
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Gavin Off
• Topics: Disasters , Death
• Data Types: Federal Data
• Description/Excerpt: Many of Hurricane Katrina's victims were senior citizens who became trapped by floodwaters and drowned in their homes, according to a newly released accounting of the 2005 storm. The average age for men who died in the northern Gulf Coast hurricane was 64 years old, according to a Scripps Howard News Service analysis of data recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Female victims were older, averaging 71. That's more than 23 years older than the average age of women who died during the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season and 13 years older than women who died in other 2005 storm events. In all, about 60 percent of the Katrina victims listed in the database were 65 years old or older. The total death toll for senior citizens was 493.