Katrina's Staggering Blow
Wednesday, August 31, 2005

THE WORST-CASE scenario, or something close to it, has befallen southern Louisiana and its Gulf Coast neighbors, Alabama and Mississippi. Hurricane Katrina's howling, lethal force has dealt an immense blow to the region, exacting a shattering price in treasure and lives. As a human tragedy, Katrina's magnitude is still difficult to comprehend, but spare statistics hint at it: tens of thousands of homes destroyed; 2.5 million people without power; a death toll running into dozens and possibly scores.

The rescue and relief effort over the coming weeks and months will have to address not only physical damage that may reach into the tens of billions of dollars, but also the peril to public health. In a major American city whose neighborhoods and streets are now submerged under water befouled by garbage, gas and debris, and whose hospitals -- if they have not been evacuated -- are overflowing, the authorities could have their hands full maintaining a decent level of public health.

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