I'll repeat what I said before. Anyone out and about, wading around in that "water" in the streets of New Orleans, is asking for a very nasty death. Have the news reports shown the first corpse floated up from one of the well-known cemetaries yet? I haven't seen it but I expect to. The mosquitos are right now beginning to multiply and soon will be spreading disease among those out and about, looting or otherwise, in the city. I suspect what is happening is going to resemble one of those sci-fi movies where the impending victims go merrily about their business unaware that their fate is sealed.

There needs to be a massive public health effort to (1) get everybody out of the flooded areas whether they want to go or not, (2) innoculate them against the better known infectious diseases; (3) enforce sanitation measures (pure drinking water, use of safe toilet facilities etc); (4) suppress mosquito breeding by aerial spraying; (5) treating any illness that develops promptly.

Watch for the first reports of skin infections in a day or two followed by diarrheal diseases in 3 or 4 days. The looters are likely to find their booty not wofrth what it has cost them.