So, the death toll for Nawlins may be much lower than first feared/trumpeted. I can't say I'm surprised. Remember when we thought 10,000 people died on 9/11 and it turned out to be more like 2500? Initial estimates are not simply estimates, they're initial.

Anyway, let's say 6,000 people in total, across the entire Gulf, died in this storm. That would actually put Katrina well behind the 30,000 who died during Europe's 2003 heat wave. (And yes, it's a Wikipedia article, but the Wiki-numbers are hyperlinked to legit sources.) These disasters do have one thing in common, though: Shitty, ineffectual government responses.