It is not getting any better. In the past 18 hours things have gone from bad to worse. Death estimates range anywhere from the hundreds to the thousands in New Orleans and the hundreds in Mississippi. Looters run rampant and inmates at jails have held hostages in attempts to escape. Police and rescue teams can only watch as they scramble to save what survivors remain.
With somewhere around 95% of the coastal oil access knocked out for the time being, national oil reserves are being tapped in order to fight a dramatic surge in prices.
This is the greatest national disaster since the San Francisco earthquake in the early 1900's. This will have a much greater impact as it will have unforseen economic effects everywhere from the local coastal economies to the global energy community. Bush thinks it will take years to recover.
Citizens displaced from their homes are being bussed out of the area, and they may even place others on cruise ships.
People will not be allowed to return for months.