Home | Holidays In North America | Mississippi

Mississippi's Recovery, Fast and Steadfast

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 storm receded and news anchors brought to the TV sets the true extent of the damage, one naturally wondered if places like Mississippi would ever recover from this catastrophe. Furthermore, people began to wonder if it is wise to revive low lying city areas like New Orleans, which are 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 Mississippi river is the main inland waterway ferrying millions of tons of goods and products, making its gatekeeper, the state of Mississippi, an important center of economic activity not only for the region but for the entire country. The river serves as a conduit for millions of tons of products that are transported up river every year. It appears that the hurricane may have temporarily damaged this important mode of transportation thus bringing to halt a fair portion of 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.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticles.org

About the author: Wilma Larwill writes exclusively for At Mississippi, visit there today for the latest Mississippi advice, and why not sign up for the free Mississippi newsletter. Read many more interesting articles on Mississippi at: www.atmississippi.com/articles
Click here for other unique mississippi articles.