The toll for Louisiana, where New Orleans was transformed into a fetid swamp by the storm that struck two weeks ago, rose from 154 as officials said the final body count would be far lower than the original prediction of 10,000.

Another 211 people were confirmed dead in the stricken state of Mississippi, 14 in Florida and two in Alabama, authorities in those states said earlier.

Louisiana officials and local coroners compiled the new toll after confirming that the bodies were in fact victims of Katrina and after painstakingly registering and logging the slowly-mounting number of bodies.

"Any death that is determined to have been caused as a result of Hurricane Katrina will be counted as a hurricane-related death," the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals said in a statement.

"For example, this applies to people who drowned as well as people who required life-support but had it cut off and died as a result when power was lost during the storm," it added.

While swathes of New Orleans are still covered by putrid waters concealing a harvest of corpses, two senior officials said Sunday that the total human cost of the disaster could be far lower than feared.

The official overseeing the relief operation, Vice Admiral Thad Allen, said rescuers were finding fewer bodies in New Orleans than expected as they pursue a door-to-door search.

"We are finding many fewer fatalities than we had expected," he told Fox News Sunday.

The top military commander in the recovery effort, Lieutenant General Russel Honore, echoed Allen's words.

"I would suspect that number would be somewhat lower than that -- as a matter of fact, a heck of a lot lower than that (10,000)," he told CNN's "Late Edition.

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Much fewer than 10,000 died in New Orleans: general
Washington (AFP) Sep 11 - Authorities will have a better idea of how many New Orleans residents were killed by Hurricane Katrina in the next three days, but the death toll is likely much lower than the 10,000 predicted, the top military commander in the recovery effort said Sunday.

"I would suspect that number would be somewhat lower than that -- as a matter of fact, a heck of a lot lower than that," Lieutenant General Russel Honore told CNN's "Late Edition."

"That's a number we'll be very happy to be wrong about," Honore said.

The 10,000 figure came out "at a very emotional time, with not a lot of facts," he said, refusing to give another estimate. The hurricane struck the US Gulf Coast on August 29.

"We would have to look at the data of the names and the addresses of those people that have been evacuated. And that database is coming along real well. So I would expect to have a better scientific-based number in the next two to three days," he said.

The official death toll in Lousiana so far stands at 424.

Authorities are still focusing on saving lives, he said, adding that the forced evacuation of recalcitrant residents is in the hands of local law enforcement officials.

"Federal troops will not be involved in the direct evacuation in any way, or anyone, from their home. That is a local and state law enforcement task, not to include the federal troops," he said.

"These are tough decisions. They go to the heart and core of our democracy and people being able to make their own decisions," he said.

"Right now, we want to make sure that we're taking care of the people that are alive, and that we are treating them with dignity and respect, and we're providing food and water for them."

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