As dawn broke over the ravaged Gulf of Mexico coastline on Tuesday, rescuers in boats and helicopters furiously searched for survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The governor said the death toll in just one Mississippi county could be as high as 80. ”The devastation down there is just enormous,” said Governor Haley Barbour.

United States Gulf Coast residents staggered on Tuesday from the body-blow inflicted by Hurricane Katrina, with more than a million people without power, lowlands swamped and at least 55 dead — a number likely to increase as rescuers reach the hardest-hit areas.