Disasters

This hurricane season brings severe destruction and lessons for disaster preparedness. In the first half of the show, we examine global warming's contribution to hurricane activity. In the second half of the program, we'll discuss the logistics of evacuations.
As the misery wrought by Hurricane Rita came into clearer view - particularly in the marshy towns along the Texas-Louisiana line - officials credited the epic evacuation of 3 million people for saving countless lives.
State government agencies and non-profit organizations stepped in quickly after Hurricane Katrina struck. They're prepared again, if needed, for a repeat performance.
A group of law enforcement officers from Minnesota is helping patrol the city of New Orleans. Lieutenant Otto Wagenphiel, who is commanding the Minnesota contingent, has been in the area for about a week with nearly 90 officers from a number of Minnesota departments. He says New Orleans is pretty empty, now that officials have stopped the reentry.
The Federal Reserve continued its slow, steady increase of interest rates Tuesday, saying that it thinks Hurricane Katrina's economic impact will be short-lived. Will it?
Private donations to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina now exceed $1 billion. But not all disasters bring in such big money. How do people decide which causes should receive their financial support?
Hurricane Katrina has inspired a nationwide outpouring of sympathy, grief and outrage. We watched the institutions of society crumble before our eyes on television, bringing out the best in some and the worst in others. What did the storm teach us about the human condition?
President Bush has pledged to rebuild the area of the Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricane Katrina. But many say meaningful long-term recovery will only happen if the country addresses the region's poverty in the process.
President Bush promised "one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen" to rebuild the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast in a speech Thursday night from New Orleans. Nearly three weeks after Katrina hit, what does the situation look like on the ground?