My best friend and college roomate was called back to Coast Guard duty in Baton Rouge from his vacation here in NC. It's going to be rough. He said watch gas prices rise 2-3X times what they are right now. There are some major petrochemicial processing plants towards the end of the Mississippi River. This is going to be a serious environmental disaster.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/28/news/economy/katrina_oil.reut/index.htm