Katrina - A natural and economic disaster

Dubbed the worst disaster in the history of United States ever since the 1905 hurricane in Texas, Katrina has literally wrecked the Gulf Of Mexico. Thousands of lives have been lost in the southern states of Loisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. An otherwise burgeoning city of New Orleans is totally submerged in water upto 20 ft in some places.
The economic impact - astronomous. $26 billion in insurance coverages - AllState insurance will lose all its profits this year. Another $14 billion in miscellaneous damages. About $40 billion in the rise of commodity prices and gasoline that is pegged to reach 4$ a gallon. People are fearing loss of jobs. Even coffee prices are slated to shoot up as some 1.6 million sacks of coffee is stacked in New Orleans warehouses.
Some people are terming Katrina as 'American Tsunami'. There is no power, no water, no food in the affected areas. President Bush made a statement that it will take 'years' to recover.
Not to draw a comparison, but not very long ago the Tsunami that hit southern Asia was a disaster in a much larger proportion. However, the economic impact was not to this extent. The hard hit countries of Indonesia, SriLanka and India have already recovered. India, recovered so fast without any foriegn aid. After the Tsunami, the Mumbai floods caused severe damage. But, the economic impact - almost nothing. Mumbai has already recovered and there is little or no worry about job losses etc.
In India, we may lack infrastructure, we may not have the best possible facilities, but what we have is 'resilience' which is much more valuable than any of these factors. One hurricane, and the american economy is shaken. We've had a disastrous Tsunami, floods that literally put the economic capital out of business for days, yet our economy is strong and shining.
These disasters are proving that man is finally paying the price for polluting nature. Researchers are studying the causes of Katrina and linking it to the enormous CO2 pollution. It is predicted that more hurricanes will follow and will cost the american economy upto $100 billion. Well I hope after all this, some people wake up and take up small steps to prevent pollution. Atleast, they can stop driving Hummers.

Sources - Forbes.com and CNN.com