What can I say about New Orleans? We visited once and had a great time. It is a shock to see the pictures of places where we were and what they look like now. On the other hand I will briefly point out that reconstruction can make it almost impossible to tell that such a disaster has occured - witness Kobe for example where anyone visiting any time in the last 5 years (and possibly longer) would have no idea that an immensely destructive earthquake had occured.
Back home here on the Côte d'Azur, a problem has occured which might seem to be a disaster, except when compared to the news. The problem is that I decided to change DSL providers and the first one has cut me(us) off while the second has yet to activate the link properly. It is amazing how lack of internet access affects your life these days!