Storm Impact Observations

Some observations about the storm gleaned from my morning newspaper....
1) A big worry here is that preservationists say that the old homes that are architecturally unique to certain parts of my city may have to be bulldozed. And the huge canopy of 200 year old oaks that line much of the city has been drastically thinned by the storm.
2) School systems outside the New Orleans area are so overcrowded with area students transfers that they can't meet their budgets. About 1/2 million kids have been displaced to other parts of Louisiana (and in some other states). Private schools here are losing so many students (because their family homes are destroyed and they must relocate) that many will close. They won't be able to meet their expenses due to the loss of tuition revenue.
3) The negative publicity of the storm, particularly the media fixating on a segment of thugs and drug addicts who briefly looted the center of the city after the storm, has given New Orleans a "third world image" that may be very hard to overcome in the future. Tourism will decline radically, even if the city is repaired enough to function "normally".
4) In some parts of the city of New Orleans, it may be 6 months before clean drinking water comes from taps. There is so much oil, waste and toxic residue in the water lines the city says it will be some time in 2006 until tap water can be used there.
5) More than 200,000 cars and other autos were completely destroyed by the flooding. Insurance companies are getting hit hard in two directions- car losses and losses from homes and other property. One companies may file for bankruptcy because of the volume of claims.
6) Weeks after the storm, only one branch of my bank is open. Business here has halted to a trickle, but identity theft is on the rise.
7) New Orleans is likely to lose it's two top professional sports teams, the NBA Hornets and the New Orleans Saints foot ball team. The New Orleans Superdome (largest indoor stadium in the world, suffered 100 million dollars of damage, most from vandalism by the people given sanctuary there. Officials are trying to decide whether to repair it or tear it down. Either way, no sports team can play there for quite some time.
8) About 250,000 New Orleanians and hundreds of thousands of others in the area have relocated to other states where housing and jobs have been offered. This instant depopulation is likely to be permanent. There is simply no available shelter left in this area. Area restaurants and other service businesses say they can't reopen their businesses because many of their workers are gone. Some chains will have to bring in workers from their other sites in other states. But where will those people live? There is no housing available.