Katrina images echo developing world disasters

[tocqueville]

By Lesley Wroughton
50 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Images of desperate people clamoring for food dropped from military helicopters, armed soldiers in the streets and bodies floating in fetid water are usually associated with the world's poorest countries.

But this time, the scenes of death and despair are coming from a major city in the world's richest economy.

The suffering of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina has shaken even hardened development experts at the World Bank, who deal with extreme poverty and disaster daily.

"In many ways this is turned into a developing country," said Margaret Arnold, the World Bank's natural disaster expert, who has dealt with some of the world's biggest natural disasters, including the Asian tsunami

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/ts_nm/economy_katrina_worldbank_dc