as for the vietnamese population, they were and still are a great inspiration to all of us here. they did not wait on their butts and wait for the government. they took the lead in cleaning up their neighborhoods. alot of people followed.
Last year there was a cyclone that hit the coast of central Viet Nam that was of greater intensity than Katrina. Mrs Ozzie and I were there the week after and the results were truly amazing! Not that the American media would acknowledge it of course.
The government evacuated the city of Da Nang (the country's third largest city) ahead of when the storm hit to minimise loss of life. (George W - where were you in Katrina?) The week after we saw the devastation and walked amongst the rubble. Our 'adopted son' who was in the middle of building his dream house at the time of the cyclone saw it collapsed but he'd already re-built half a wall!!! We walked through what was to become our bedroom for whenever we visit.
Schools were destroyed but infrastructure continued to operate unabated. The loss of life, around 60 persons, was so much less than in Karina I believe.
We stayed as guests in a resort in the historic town of Hoi An where we have been known for many years. When we first arrived, there were large boats washed ashore into the grounds of the resort, the river wall was destroyed, etc etc. Within one week everything had been restored and the central government hosted their very first heads of government meeting for the ASEAN Economic Forum and with much fanfare as if nothing had happened !!! Truly amazing!
It doesn't surprise me that they cleaned up after Katrina - what an example to everyone, including the dubs!
Makes you wonder how on earth the dubs could clean up the whole earth after Armageddon, eh?
