I grew up in the "nInt" ward, ableit the upper 9th, not the lower, although I did go to high school in the lower. My entire family was displaced by Katrina, and many of them stayed with my wife and I for quite some time.
I had a somewhat unigue [for a civilian] opportunity to go through some of the worst hit areas of the city not too long after the storm, and the only adjective that I can think of to describe the destruction is surreal.
Here is the difference between "evacuees" and "refugees".....my family has all returned to N.O., and are working and re-building homes/businesses.
Those folks that have not gone back yet, will not likely ever do so. Without stereotyping, they are typically those who were non-productive members of society who have found a new tit to suck on for the time being.
My dad made an interesting comment the other day when pondering an ethical issue about rebuilding his home, "I think some of the workers may be undocumented." My rhetorical reply was, "are they working hard and doing a good job?"
One minor detail, most coonasses are from Southwest and South Central LA; people from N.O. tend to be creole instead, i.e. they put tomatos in their jambalaya.
ETA - Another interesting fact is that the crime rate in N.O. has dropped significantly since the storm; maybe it is because of the enhanced military/LE presence or maybe it is because.....