The extent of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation causes the mind to reel, even a post-9/11 mind used to apocalyptic visions. An entire city of almost Seattle’s or Portland’s population is “down,” in computer-maintenance jargon. That city, and much of its suburban sprawl, are to be completely evacuated, perhaps through the rest of the year.

And, as you might expect, there’s a political angle to this natural disaster story. Apparently, the New Orleans area’s disaster-prevention infrastructure (the levees and pumps that had kept the city from being flooded in the past) has been severely neglected in recent years, thanks largely to federal funding cutbacks.