Nature has attempted to reclaim New Orleans and various parts of the Gulf coast, taking out a significant portion of the indigenous human population. It's a disaster of epic proportions, to be sure, to be sure, but in time, these wounds will heal, leaving the jagged scars of memory upon the collective psyche.
For now, band aids of one kind or another are being rationed out to the full crazed survivors, who may never ever trust any government entity fully again. It's interesting to note that the higher ground around the French Quarter ensured it's safety and sure enough the first business to open after the hurrcane is a tavern, Johnny White's Sports Bar, and their first patrons, though few in number, were quick to drown their sorrows; they entered the establishment as the walking wounded but left falling down drunk!
I have made contributions in time, money, personal contact, etcetera, to help ease those who have suffered so far. I still feel helpless, overwhelmed by the sheer enormity, numbed by trying to comprehend the sheer scope of this disaster. I cannot help thinking how would I fare if such a disaster befell my community? I live in a flood plain with levees that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have repeatedly warned need to be totally redone before the next superstorm happens, taxes the limits, overwhelms and breaks through, flooding neighbourhoods, downtown, bridges, washing away the trappings of civilisation, leaving refuse, debris, corpses and little evidence of the vestiges of human dignity and the cycle repeats eslewhere ad infinitatum, ad nauseum.