>>No one is talking right now about the tremendous opportunity this disaster presents because of all the carnage, but once everything dries out and the water receeds, there's going to be a huge demand for construction. The economy will come back roaring in the area. Half of Mexico will be in New Orleans helping put it back together! I guess it's like the acorn dropping to the ground, being interred, then turning into a giant oak tree. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but New Orleans will spring back to life soon!
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>You write that 'once everything dries out and the water receeds'. How will that gonna happen? It is all below the sea level and the lake level. So, it won't stream back. Remains: pumping it out, which will be a huge undertaking, and/or dampening by the sun. Possible?

New Orleans has always had the pumping stations in place and were always in operation to handle rainfall, etc. The problem is the failed levee that Lake Pontchartrain is now spilling through. That is what is flooding New Orleans. The first morning after the hurricane, the city was not flooded. Until they can get power back to the pumps and the levee breach repaired, water levels will rise to the level of the Lake.