“Water is mightier” is the adage that comes to mind as one scans the ghastly photographs coming over the wires from New Orleans, where the failure of the levees in the wake of Hurricane Katrina has led Governor Blanco to declare the situation “untenable” and to describe the situation as “just heartbreaking.” The governor was choking back tears, the Associated Press noted.

Even here in New York, which is still seared with the images of September 11, 2001, it is hard to imagine what the people of New Orleans are going through. By the time these columns went to press, the number of dead totaled in the hundreds, but the scale of the devastation is vast – worse than had been predicted – and hundreds of thousands have lost their homes.

It will be weeks, months, or longer before the full impact of Katrina is reckoned in respect of the economy, oil production, and insurance losses. But it is not too soon to note that, although President Bush was mocked in some quarters, he appears to have made a wise decision to issue his urgent warning before Katrina struck.

Nor is it too soon to pause to reflect – as no doubt millions of New Yorkers are doing this morning – on the power of nature. We witnessed it from afar in the case of the tsunami in Asia. It has been brought closer to home in the case of New Orleans. No doubt Americans will rally to the people of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast regions struck by the storm. And though it will never be the same, New Orleans, like San Francisco after its earthquake and Chicago after its fire, will rebuild and go on to greater glory.