The city had no power, no drinking water, dwindling food supplies, widespread looting, smoke rising on the horizon and the sounds of gunfire. At least one large building was ablaze Tuesday.[...]
As many as 30,000 people were being housed in the Louisiana Superdome, where toilets were overflowing and there was no air conditioning to provide relief from 90-degree heat.
New Orleans houses more than 1.3 million people [Wikipedia], many of whom no longer have a home and face at least nine weeks of pumping [via Slashdot] to clear the water from their homes, assuming the levy protecting the city can be fixed soon.