As Houston struggled to ensure the quality of its water supply, Galveston continued asking residents to leave and evacuees to stay away, warning the situation there "would go into a downward spiral."

"There is nothing to come here for right now," said Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas today. "Please leave. I am asking people to leave."

Thousands of homes remain to be searched and a refrigerated mobile morgue is on its way, a city official said.

In Galveston, city officials say health conditions continue to deteriorate on the hard-hit island, and officials from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are assessing the situation.

One of the survivors found by a search team had suffered an estimated 1,000 mosquito bites and was flown to a hospital on the mainland.

City Manager Steve LeBlanc said 15,000 to 20,000 residents remained on the island today out of a population of about 60,000. About 3,000 are trying to get off the island, he said.

Bush plans to visit Houston on Tuesday...

[link to www.chron.com]


Mosquito-borne diseases are just the tip of that soggy iceberg.