10:33 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 6, 2005

By DAN SEWELL / Associated Press

CHALMETTE, La. — In St. Bernard Parish, fatigued and frustrated authorities say they'll match their Hurricane Katrina devastation with anyone else's.

"If you dropped a bomb on this place, it couldn't be any worse than this," said Ron Silva, a district fire chief.

They said while federal help came slowly to New Orleans, it's even been slower to their outlying area of some 66,000 people on Louisiana's southeastern edge.

"It's Day 8, guys. Everything was diverted first to New Orleans, we understand that. But do you realize we got 18 to 20 feet of water from the storm, and we've still got 7 to 8 feet of water?" Silva said.

In addition to help from other Louisiana and Alabama departments, a Canadian task force of firefighters and police arrived four days after the storm to help, St. Bernard Fire Chief Thomas Stone said.

"If you can get a Canadian team here in four days, U.S. teams should be here faster than that," Stone said.

Rescue teams and other help has been arriving from around the country this week, but parish authorities say action is needed to reduce water levels.

Destruction swept the parish, throwing boats out of marinas and into the middle of two-story-home neighborhoods, leaving flipped-over cars with their rear bumpers resting against roofs, refrigerators atop roofs, and single-story homes with water to the roofs. There were several roofs with holes where residents apparently used axes to cut their way out.

The parish's fire department and sheriff's department have taken authority, commandeering heavy equipment and other vehicles for use to clear paths and evacuate people. The some 100 firefighters have been working virtually around the clock, Silva said, using their own vehicles, some of which now have engine damage from overuse and sea water.

Authorities say they're not ready to estimate numbers of dead; at least dozens, maybe more.