Trumping Disasters
While the images of the destruction caused by Katrina are pretty remarkable and sobering, I think that comparison with the tsunami is a little off. I think the blow to New Orleans' levee system (and subsequent flooding) and its impact on oil production will make it a very expensive, if not the most expensive natural disaster in this country's history. It seems like Americans sort of want a bigger disaster.
But in terms of scale and death, the tsunami was really something quite awful. Well over 200,000 dead if not more. It is ridiculous, however, to compare misery. I remember the cover of Newsweek with the woman crying over a dead family member - an image burned into my brain. Today it's the woman mourning her husband, his body wrapped in a blanket. She couldn't get him oxygen in time. Death is death.
But in terms of scale and death, the tsunami was really something quite awful. Well over 200,000 dead if not more. It is ridiculous, however, to compare misery. I remember the cover of Newsweek with the woman crying over a dead family member - an image burned into my brain. Today it's the woman mourning her husband, his body wrapped in a blanket. She couldn't get him oxygen in time. Death is death.