INSURRECTION.(post disaster reconstruction )

Publication: The New Yorker

Publication Date: 26-SEP-05

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2005 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc.

LETTER FROM MISSISSIPPI

THE FINANCIAL PAGE

James Surowiecki talks with Ben Greenman about the economic effects of Hurricane Katrina

From September 19, 2005, Jon Lee Anderson on holdouts in New Orleans

From September 19, 2005, continuing coverage of Hurricane Katrina

From September 12, 2005, initial coverage of Hurricane Katrina

From September 12, 2005, Nicholas Lemann talks with Daniel Cappello about the fate of his home town, New Orleans

As it becomes more possible to play what President Bush calls "the blame game" about the unnecessarily disastrous effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, it also becomes clear that the game divides fairly neatly into two parts: before and after. Before involves storm defenses not enhanced despite clear warnings of their inadequacy, wetlands not protected, evacuation buses not engaged, and Federal Emergency Management Agency units not deployed to the Gulf Coast in advance. After is about the week that began with the hurricane hitting and ended with the Superdome and the Convention Center emptied, National Guard troops on the street, supplies available, and the levee breaches repaired, and that included day after endless day of inexcusable, televised misery in between.

Most of what is likely to be known...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.