A loss of comprehension

I wrote yesterday about my initial impressions of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on my home state and surrounding areas, and I have to admit, I had no idea what I was talking about when I posted yesterday.
I have felt, since Sunday, that I was in an information vacuum, and had no real idea of how extensive the damage was.
The city of New Orleans, which I personally would wager to say, is the best fucking city in the country, is in dire straits. The levees have been breached in two places and because of the extensive water pressure on those places, the Corps of Engineers has not been able to repair them, which means that the city continues to be deluged with water, and the situation of what may happen next becomes more and more critical.
Because I'm in Pennsylvania, I have limited access to local coverage as to what is happening, although, clearly all news media is focused on what has happened there.
But the thing is, the coverage is centered on the coast, and because they weren't really able to get in there until yesterday, it's been sporadic.
So, as of yesterday morning, I had no idea that the situation was as bad as it was, and I was just glad that I was able to reach my dad last night to find out that they were okay. But then that presented a whole other set of problems, because the last time a major hurricane made its way up to north Mississippi, hundreds were without power; some lost their homes, and I wanted to know where my friends were, but I still couldn't get through because of limited phone service.
I have gotten through to everyone now, and I'm so grateful. I feel so bad for New Orleans and the cities of the coast that were the hardest hit, that I really can't even express it.
The thing that warms my heart, is that I know the resilient nature of a Southerner. We don't take no shit, and we don't admit defeat. Look at us, 140 years later, we refuse to admit defeat in the Civil War in earnest.
I have endured serious accusations of abandoning the South for "the Yankees," without a hint of irony, when I moved to Philadelphia.
It will be a long, costly, arduous process, but the cities will rebuild and the citizens will exhibit more strength than most of us are capable of, because that's what Southerners do.
And I've never been more aware of that fact until now, being over 1,000 miles away from that place in which I grew up, and truly, that's where my heart is gonna be for the next few months, or longer, until they are back to their fighting weight, but I have no doubt that they will eventually be, so that's what comforts me, if only somewhat, at this point.