I could see in the first few days the number getting lower because they found people at hospitals, etc...... then i could see the number growing from there on out due to people who were visiting the centers or without close family (it would take longer for them be noticed missing and would need to be added to the list).

the toll is now somewhere just over 3000 people.... but it keeps getting lower in the past month.??? how??

wouldn't ya think it would keep growing?

Scot

 

That's a great question...! I, too, have noticed that there is a huge variation in this number. I heard 6,000 right off the bat, then it's down to 4,000 all of a sudden...I have not ANY kind of explanation in the media. I hope to hear one here!

It doesn't make sense to me either and I'm glad you asked this question...!

 

Good question Scot. I've been wondering the same thing.

 

The lower the better.

 

One reported problem is multiple missing persons reports for the same person.
Another is the loss of records in companies that were destroyed (that might have helped in counting employees).
Another is that initial estimates for disasters are always high by about 30-50% (in what I've observed.)
Another (I'm betting) is attempts by con artists to access the money.
A small number of people have probably been found traumatized and wandering. It's easy to be lost in the shelter system.
So many people in NY have families that live elsewhere and may have had trouble contacting them. I'm sure this contributed to confusion too.

We should all count our blessings. Two hours later, the death toll might have been in the tens of thousands!

 

Knowledge is right. (Astronomers are wise people.)

 

As long as it keeps dropping