The police and fire departments are being asked to recheck about 400 Louisiana addresses where authorities have consistent information about residents missing since Hurricane Katrina.

The addresses were culled from the list of 3,200 people still officially unaccounted for nearly five months after the storm.

Heavily flooded east New Orleans and suburban St Bernard Parish account for most of the addresses in the request announced today by state medical examiner Dr Louis Cataldie.

New Orleans officials say homes have been checked thoroughly and some properties are not searchable due to extensive hurricane damage. “A lot of these addresses don’t exist,” spokesman Capt Juan Quinton said.

Still, some people have returned to damaged homes to discovered deceased relatives inside.

The August 29 hurricane has been blamed for more than 1,300 deaths in five states. About 70 victims in Louisiana have yet to be identified.