Update on Katrina

As we approach a new hurricane season, how are recovery efforts going from Katrina? Earlier post on the aftermath of Katrina here.

In Mississippi, which took the full brunt of the storm, sweeping through the entire state from south to north, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour had this to report:

Barbour, a Republican elected in 2003 and a former GOP national chairman, told members of the Tribune editorial board that employment in Mississippi last month reached pre-Katrina levels, and he predicted the state will reach a record for jobs within the next 12 months.

Barbour said a rapid increase in economic activity after the August hurricane helped fuel an 11 percent increase in state revenues over last year.

Charitable organizations, especially faith-based such as the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities, were very effective in helping with critical needs through their network of churches and generous volunteers, outstripping the Red Cross and the bound-by-bureaucracy local, state and federal governments. Wal-Mart also was instrumental in responding very quickly to reestablish distribution and key supplies. And the city of Houston and the state of Texas deserve special recognition for their quick offers to welcome thousands of Katrina survivors, many of whom have found jobs and decided to stay.

New Orleans is expected to reelect their feckless, blame-everyone-else Mayor Ray Nagin on April 22nd. Time story here. But who knows, their voters are widely dispersed. Meanwhile, wiser heads are prevailing in the federal decision to rebuild the levees higher and stronger, and in requiring residents to raise the homes by at least 3 feet. Tribune story here.

I do question whether this is still a good idea in low-lying parts of the city. (Apparently lower Plaquemines parish may revert to marsh.) It was only quick, heroic action by the Coast Guard and other volunteers that saved thousands of people, and by our military, once Louisiana's criminally useless Democrat Governor Kathleen Blanco called them in. But the city is still sinking. More here. This is not news and will only get worse. There is evidence the storm made it worse, and there are new concerns.

Sinking city.
Part of eastern New Orleans may be falling fast because of the movement of a tectonic fault. (Cooler colors indicate lower elevations.)

Credit: ROY DOKKA

New Orleans will be a problem and politically charged for some time to come.