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Mississippi Still a Great Place to Live
by Wilma Larwill
http://www.atmississippi.com
When Hurricane Katrina struck, the whole world watched in
shock and horror how the hard work of generations melted
away into nothingness. The images of death and mass
destruction shook the world community from its roots. In the
blink of an eye we saw the hopes and dreams of residents
shatter to bits in the devastating storm.
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 is clearly the gatekeeper for the
mighty Mississippi river. This river is an economic
necessity to the vitality of the United States and indeed
to the state of Mississippi itself. The river is used as a
transportation conduit that sends millions of tons of
products up the river every year. Hurricane Katrina
temporarily impaired the ability of people to use the
Mississippi for transportation services and thus severely
impaired 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, energy prices
shot up due to the severe disruption to refining capacity at
the time when the nation was struggling to cope with the
devastation. Almost 25 percent of the nation's petroleum
comes from the Gulf Coast states and Mississippi is vital to
that industry. In fact, 80% of Mississippi's total mineral
production comes from petroleum and its products.
The destruction to the offshore fishing industry in
Mississippi was also devastating to the state but it did
not have anywhere near the impact as the loss of the
refining facilities. Biloxi is a major hub for the shrimp
industry and it was virtually wiped out by Katrina.
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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