As the floodwaters in the city of New Orleans begin to recede and the true extent of the damage is revealed in the coming weeks, one question is becoming increasingly paramount: Will New Orleans come back from the brink of extinction? Or will it simply decline into oblivion?

There is no electricity, no clean water, and no sewage system. Thriving neighbourhoods that once seduced visitors with their charm and history are unsalvageable, having been largely or wholly submerged by the floodwaters which engulfed the low-lying city.

Now, officials will face the daunting task of rebuilding an entire city's infrastructure after displacing hundreds of thousands of people – scores of whom may never return should they put down roots in one of the many states that offers them shelter.

Indeed, so many have abandoned their homes that authorities paint a bleak picture for the city's immediate future.

"I surmise that there are people in New Orleans who will not be able to get back to their homes for months, if not forever," said Michael D. Brown, undersecretary of homeland security for emergency preparedness and response told the Washington Post.

"It will be a Herculean undertaking."

The process

First, officials will have to pump the city dry of the water remaining in its streets. This will likely take a minimum of 30 days.

When the waters recede, they will expose a city that will have been steeping for weeks in a noxious soup.

Next, officials must flush the drinking water system to make sure the contaminants are not recycled. This is likely to take about another month.

Once the water is gone, officials will likely sample formerly flooded areas to get soil profiles and determine how safe it is for residents to move back or rebuild. This is expected to take another six months.

Although the floodwaters are expected to be drained by that time, they will be lingering nearby in the Gulf of Mexico, for as long as a decade.

It is still too early to tell just how many buildings in New Orleans will have to be rebuilt after the waters recede.

Chances are that many of the historic structures facing decay before the storm hit are unlikely to be spared now.

But what is obvious is that the city will be full of bulldozers before construction cranes can move in.

By that time, some residents may have moved out permanently, taking with them the spirit of the city.

The human toll

"The spirit of New Orleans is all about the people," Jacob Wagner, a professor of urban planning at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, who studied the relationship between memory and place in New Orleans, told the Houston Chronicle.

"If the people come back and rebuild, the spirit will survive. If they don't, fragmentation of local culture could occur. Maintaining the local character of the city must be part of the discussion about how to rebuild."

But it just may be easier for low-income families to cut their losses and settle elsewhere.
Flood insurance offered by the federal government is required by most lenders before they provide a mortgage for a house located in an area prone to flooding.

However, that insurance is limited to $250,000 US or 80 per cent of the replacement cost of the home, whichever is the lesser amount.

And those who want to rebuild, may not be able to.

"In most hurricanes, you're talking about wind damage, lost roofs -- that kind of thing," said Michael Carliner, an economist with the National Association of Homebuilders told the Post.

"Flooding is much more insidious. Structures are still standing, but there are devastating effects. With the dirty water, it may never be possible to repair it. You'll have to rebuild, or at least gut it."

Some believe the human toll -- in lives lost and financial consequences-- could be the most devastating side effect of the hurricane.

Ed Pratt, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Labor, told AFX News that thousands of workers were instantly put on unemployment rolls when Katrina hit.

The department is working seven days a week to process unemployment insurance claims.

In a normal week, about 4,000 people apply for unemployment insurance throughout Louisiana. The same amount of applications was filed in the 1.5-day period that immediately followed. Katrina.

And still, the numbers are expected to rise dramatically.

Vowing to rebuild

Gov. Kathleen Blanco has said that she hasn't even begun to consider the economic impact of the devastation. But she is vowing to rebuild.

"We will put our economy back together," she said. When asked if it could ever be the same, she said: "It's going to be better."

While Blanco is optimistic, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has expressed his skepticism.

In an unguarded comment to the editorial board of the Daily Herald, a suburban-Chicago newspaper, Hastert said "It doesn't make sense to me" to rebuild the city because its below-sea level position makes it susceptible to another floodwater calamity.

Soon after, Hastert's office issued a statement insisting he meant to say that it will be important "to consider the safety of the citizens first" when the city is rebuilt.

In the same interview in which Hastert expressed his doubts about the wisdom of rebuilding the city, he acknowledged the human instinct to put down roots.

"We build Los Angeles and San Francisco on top of earthquake fissures," he said.

"And they rebuild too." His explanation? "Stubbornness."

It is this stubborn human spirit that will rebuild the city from its ashes.

"I'm going home even if it comes down to walking to New Orleans," Glen Andrews, a jazz trombonist staying in the Houston Astrodome told The New York Times.

"It's my life, and I prefer to be in Louisiana, period. And it doesn't matter what's left there. I'm going to rebuild even if I have to hold a shovel and a horn at the same time."