Mississippi Thrives despite Katrina!

Shock and disbelief - that's what the world felt when the Katrina disaster unfolded in the Gulf Coast of United States. Generations of effort and sacrifices were destroyed in a wink of the eye. And so were destroyed the hopes and aspirations of the current generation caught up in this devastating hurricane.

As the true extent of the damage from Hurricane Katrina became more evident, news anchors and commentators began asking whether or not places like Mississippi could ever possibly recover. Still others began to wonder, as in the case with New Orleans, whether it was even wise to think about rebuilding in an area known to be prone to hurricanes.

Hats off to the indomitable will of citizens of the United States, particularly those living in the great state of Mississippi, they do not accept defeat so easily. No doubt, it will take many years, if not decades, to recover from the damage and destruction, but they will recover, and some forms of recovery will have to occur at a faster pace than others due to their importance to the health of Mississippi and that of the United States itself.

The state of Mississippi functions as the gatekeeper for the mighty Mississippi River that is the backbone of the economy of the United States and the state of Mississippi in particular. The river is used to transport millions of tons of products every year. Hurricane Katrina temporarily disrupted the ability of people to use the Mississippi for transportation services causing severe damage to the local and national economy.

In addition to being a gateway to the river, Mississippi is also a state where a substantial part of the nation's energy is converted into a consumable form such as petrol, diesel and gasoline apart for other petroleum products. The hurricane Katrina seems to have impaired all the facilities that are responsible for energy production located on and just off the coast of Mississippi. Hence the damage has its impact across the nation.

In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, the severe disruption to refining capacity caused a large spike in energy prices as the nation struggled to cope with the devastation. No less than 25 percent of the nation's petroleum comes from the Gulf Coast states and Mississippi is vital to that industry. In fact, petroleum and its products account for 80% of Mississippi's total mineral production.

While the petroleum industry bore the brunt of the hurricane, the local fishing industry also got affected albeit to a lesser degree. Hurricane Katrina wiped out Biloxi, the major hub of the shrimp industry.

Given the economic importance of the region, the amount of money being invested in rebuilding the Gulf Coast states, like Mississippi, is huge. This will ensure that the region is sure to not just recover its original glory but attain a stronger place in the economy in the years to come.

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Wilma Larwill is the chief writer for, and editor of At Mississippi, there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus their free newsletter is well worth signing up for too. If you want to read more Mississippi articles go to: www.atmississippi.com/articles
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