After the Missouri River floods of 1993, some towns did rebuild on higher ground... but the mind boggles at building a city for half a million people. All kinds of images come to mind, but two float to the top:

-- Square miles of mid-rise public housing projects, looking more like a Russian city than an American one; and

-- "Colonial" Williamsburg.

The latter might, theoretically, be the best way to rebuild something like the French Quarter on higher ground: a reproduction, using modern materials everywhere but the facades. Would it regain the ambience of the original? Would the original owners and residents be allowed back in? I've never been to New Orleans, but I lived in Williamsburg for a year and a half, which is why I put the word colonial in quotes.

I also don't know if there is such a thing as "higher ground" in southern Louisiana, or anywhere along the Gulf Coast. And -- at the risk of starting an argument -- climate change and rising sea levels may make rebuilding the levies a futile exercise anyway. As more energy is held in the atmosphere and oceans, hurricane seasons may well continue to get worse, too. I heard a NOAA expert on the Weather Channel explain that Katrina was able to reach Cat 5 before landfall because the Gulf was 2 degress warmer than the average temp for this time of year.

Over the next few months, we will become familiar with tent cities for the Katrina refugees. If their displacement lasts much longer -- and right now I don't see how it can avoid stretching into years -- the lucky ones will find work elsewhere and move on. The unlucky ones will be living under canvas when the the next Katrina comes along. We're not out of this year's hurricane season yet! Ask Florida about the chances of multiple storms criscrossing the landscape.

Also ask Florida about how long it's taken to rebuild after Andrew, 13 years later. In what looks in hindsight like bizarre coincidence, NBC's Nightline from last Friday was dedicated to that story.

I'm not the doomsayer type, usually, but there's a nagging feeling in the back of my head saying "This is just the first taste". It may also be our first chance to learn, in advance of when things really get bad.