I still think that comparing 9/11 to NOLA is like comparing apples and oranges. The WTC disaster was confined to a few blocks and the city wasn't abandoned. As someone who has lived in the Bronx (for a short period of my life, but it wasn't Riverdale if you catch my drift), I can tell you that the thugs would be running rampant if ever a natural disaster happenned. Of course Pataki, RINO though he may be, would have the National Guard there immediately, with shoot to maim, if not to kill, orders.
uh, that would be comparing BIG APPLES to oranges.
(if you get my drift)
btw -- in NYC it could fall either way, depending on the city's immediate response, local economy, etc. etc. One thing I can tell you, you wouldn't see cops walking off the job.
The aerial view does not seem to agree with your assessment.
Moreover, you are counting only the horizontal damage and destruction; consider the sheer volume of the vertical damage and destruction (the WTC twin towers alone were 110 stories x 432,640 cubic fee per story x 2 towers) and you'll find the comparisons are valid.