I am very much afraid you are right--and it sounds as if you do know of what you speak. What is the most helpful thing people like myself who are no where near this disaster can do?
What's so tough is that no one can go in there with help until the water dissipates, and right now it's still pouring in. It's going to be a mercy mission of epic proportions, as this was a storm of epic size and destruction. This event will try people's souls for a long time, and there will be shock, mourning and grief for a very long time. Prayers for all these poor souls and those who will be giving much to help them.
There is jubilation that the French Quarter survived rather well, which is great, but who's going to be going there? The mayor said both airports were also destroyed .. there's going to be a stench, mold, roads and access disabled for months. The economic tourism base is shot .. for awhile. Many hotels sustained major damage, any conventions that were scheduled there in the next 6 months will surely cancel. The casinos have apparently been destroyed .. it's gonna be a new and shockingly different world for a probably a good year in New Orleans and the Gulf coast communities that have been so devastated.
As for re-building, there are still communities rebuilding from last year's storms in Florida; construction workers and supplies are at a premium, both in availability and cost. I think it's going to be a year of struggling and involuntary patience, as it always is when you are humbled so greatly by events so all encompassing and solutions so beyond your control.