Good Luck Big Easy

God help these folks. Sad to say, this is the paragraph that jumps out at me:

Experts have warned about New Orleans' vulnerability for years, chiefly because Louisiana has lost more than a million acres of coastal wetlands in the past seven decades. The vast patchwork of swamps and bayous south of the city serves as a buffer, partially absorbing the surge of water that a hurricane pushes ashore.

Update 10:00 PM PDT Now this is an angle I hadn't even considered. Jesus, talk about Third World conditions.