My officemate pointed me to an article titled “What if Hurricane Ivan Had Not Missed New Orleans?” by Shirley Laska from the Center for Hazards Assessment, Response and Technology at the University of New Orleans. The paper describes much of what has now happened in New Orleans, and what is likely to happen there in the coming days. If hazardous chemicals leak into the extreme flooding now occurring in the city, the toxic stew is likely to cause extremely long term damage to the soil and every surface it touches. Hopefully, most of the trains with chemical tankers made it out before the hurricane hit.