Fewer Dead and Now Less Time to Return

I'm not going to say that the initial predictions about Katrina were blown out of proportion, but it would seem they were exaggerated. A disaster occurred, yes, but on a scale of one to ten, we were repeatedly told it was a ten. It would appear that simply isn't the case. About 1/20th of the estimated dead are dead, and a significant number of person are returning in 1/6th the estimated time.

Tens of thousands of New Orleans residents could begin returning to their homes as early as Monday as city and federal authorities have set out an accelerated plan to repopulate the city, reversing earlier estimates that the metropolis could be closed for months.

The plan would reopen a portion of New Orleans that was home to about 170,000 people, or one-third of the city's population, federal officials said, and be rolled out over the next two weeks.

Link.