New Orleans

More than 200 miles of levees have been rebuilt. A new evacuation plan is in place. Thousands of residents have returned, and the city is slowly coming back to life. But could New Orleans survive another direct hit in the hurricane season that officially began this week? That's a question no one can really answer, said Cathy Booth Thomas in Time. In theory, at least, residents are safer than they were last year, when Katrina's storm surge punched holes in poorly built levees, inundated major portions of the city, and killed more than 1,000 people in Louisiana. But even the Army Corps of Engineers can't promise that the levees it has frantically patched at the cost of $800 million could withstand a Category 3, or higher, hurricane. And Colorado State University forecasters predict that there is almost a 50 percent chance that a major hurricane will hit the Gulf Coast between Florida and Texas this year. Wary New Orleanians have learned to trust no one in authority, and vow to head north if the skies darken. 'œEven if it's a Category 1,” says resident Vera Trippett, 'œwe're out of here.”

Even the authorities agree that such wariness is warranted, said John Schwartz in The New York Times. Independent engineers warn that parts of the levee system not replaced by the corps may still be weakened from Katrina. 'œDuring Katrina, the weakest link in the chain broke,” says Ivor van Heerden of Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center. 'œThe next weakest link is the one we now have to worry about.” Last week, a joint report by the University of California, Berkeley, and the National Science Foundation concluded that New Orleans' system of levees, floodwalls, pumps, and gates, patched together over more than 40 years, was simply not designed to provide adequate protection against a massive storm surge. If the city is hit by a hurricane more powerful than Category 2, many experts say, the floodwaters may come again.

Amid such uncertainty, the arrival of hurricane season hangs over the city 'œlike the sword of Damocles,” said Linton Weeks in The Washington Post. Local psychotherapists say there is a lot of generalized anxiety, depression, and heavy drinking. Many people 'œare dreaming about levees breaking and streets flooding.” Even if the levees can stand up to another monster like Katrina, New Orleanians could not, says Margaret Saizan, who runs a local blog about hurricane recovery and preparation. 'œEmotionally, I know we are not ready,” Saizan says. 'œWe are battle-worn.”

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