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But many residents stayed behind, and that is a big reason the death toll is so high. Residents gave a range of reasons for making the life-and-death decision to stay, with many saying they were tired of evacuating from hurricanes after two recent storms that didn't live up to their threat. Some were w orried about getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, leaving possessi ons behind, or running out of money on the road. But they did that last time," Pascagoula res ident Wayne Mitchell said Wednesday. "Well, this was the real wolf for sure," said the concrete-pouring busine ss employee, who lost all his furniture, including a big-screen TV, when Katrina's storm surge swept through his home. "I didn't think it was going to be that bad," said a stunned Landon Willi ams, a 19-year-old construction worker who had lived in Biloxi for less than two months. He lived in Quiet Water Beach apartments, where dozens of residents were feared dead and all that remained was a mountain of de bris. Last September, after seeing Florida pounded by three hurricanes, residen ts reacted to the approach of Hurricane Ivan. Some 400,000 drivers swarm ed through Mississippi from Gulf Coast areas as they fled Ivan, clogging major highways in hours-long jams before Ivan hit to the east, causing little damage in Mississippi. When Hurricane Dennis threatened last month, there were more jams, but au thorities noted at the time that the number of evacuees appeared to drop off. "I worry that we had a little hurricane fatigue," said Mississippi Gov. "People boarded up for Ivan, evacuated and nothing happene d Then they boarded up for Dennis, evacuated and nothing happened. "I did think about evacuating, but we evacuated last time and spent some $200, and nothing happened," she said. State authorities were focused Wednesday on search-and-rescue efforts and assessing the magnitude of the disaster, more so than reviewing last we ekend's actions. Barbour and other officials said Mississippi authoritie s tried to push people, but some just wouldn't go along. Tom Pendley, who is wheelchair-bound, said he lives on government assista nce and his money had run out for the month. "I didn't have gas in the car and I don't have the money," he said Wednes day, his trailer home without power and his supplies down to two Gatorad es. Other people said they were worried about leaving their belongings behind to be lost or looted. Louis home, watched television foo tage showing the hard-hit area Wednesday. He said he waited until Saturd ay before deciding to leave, but left behind neighbors who refused.
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