The loss of tiny places like Cameron and Holly Beach, bad as it is, will not ruin the economy of the state, as the loss of New Orleans will. Unlike Katrina, Rita did not completely REMOVE one of Louisiana's major population centers. And, most importantly, Rita will in the end have claimed far, far, FAR fewer lives than Katrina did. (So far there have been NO reported deaths in La.)
There simply is no comparison between Katrina and Rita. Katrina was a once-in-a-lifetime event; Rita was just a hurricane.
-Dan
"Unlike Katrina, Rita did not completely REMOVE one of Louisiana's major population centers"
No, Katrina did not remove a major population center. The FLOOD waters did the damage after the hurricane passed.
Before Rita hit the weather guys were saying Cameron had been hit before and completely wiped out by a hurricane once before (I think it was after the 1900 Galvestone 'cane).