Hurricane Rita--a year ago today

A year ago today, Hurricane Rita, a category 4 storm, struck the Louisiana/Texas border, and did $10 billion worth of damage. Because of the nightmare created when the pieces of junk called levees in New Orleans broke, and the pieces of trash in the federal government did nothing, Rita was--to some degree--ignored by the news media and the public. But the losses were devastating.

In Louisiana, the environmental damage alone is a very serious matter. Only 5% of Cameron Parish's residents have returned to the parish, which was once filled with houses, businesses, beaches, and fishing camps. In Texas, many low-income people without insurance saw their houses destroyed by Rita, and it may be years before adequate repairs can be made.

$895 million in federal disaster loans has been approved for the victims of Hurricane Rita, but only $235 million has reached them, though a year has passed.