Gustav apparently caused about $12 billion in damage, and 2 million people were evacuated. The Red Cross reports that 60,000 are still sleeping in their shelters.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94187442&ft=1&f=1003
Officials deserve lots of credit for getting everybody out, and minimizing the loss of life. But there's still work to be done, both in terms of rebuilding after the recent damage, and thinking about the Gulf Coast's long term future.
To be clear, I'm kind of biased, in that I'm from the South and love the redneck Riviera, and I particularly love the uniqueness of New Orleans. No other American city compares to the culture and energy there.
That being said, there are a lot of legitimate arguments about whether or not New Orleans and parts of the Gulf Coast could be saved even if we wanted to save them. If you noticed photos like this, the result of a Category 2 storm hitting 70 miles west of town, then you can only imagine what this place might look like if a Category 4 storm hits downtown.
New Orleans geography (saucer shaped, below sea level) means that any major storm would be hard to survive, no matter how good the levees, no matter how much money we spend. We will continue to invest there, I'm betting, mainly due to the political implications, as well as the desire to continue to use the Gulf Coast for oil/gas production. Half of the US refining capacity is near the Gulf Coast.
http://climate.weather.com/articles/neworleans090201.html?page=1
I think New Orleans is worth saving, but it's a worthy debate.
In other news, the Daily Show is at the Republican convention, asking questions about Gustav. Check out the guy who basically says "I can't believe they are delaying the convention because a bunch of people are getting rained on". Of course he was a dorky looking white guy, who else would you expect? Video here:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=183780&title=the-best-fucking-news-team-ever
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