Though it did a lot of damage, Irene was a pale shadow of what was predicted when New York shut down public transportation for the first time to prepare for a natural disaster. The hurricane killed more than 30 people; damage estimates are $7 billion. Over the weekend, Americans saw President Obama visiting FEMA.
Today, he emphasized that he'd make sure that "federal agencies are doing everything in their power to help folks on the ground." Six years ago today, Katrina struck Louisiana and Mississippi, killing 1800 people and costing $100 billion. Political satirist and part-time New Orleans resident Harry Shearer is also the filmmaker behind the documentary, The Big Uneasy.