I doubt New Orleans will EVER be extinct. It has too much charm in the eyes of the people who want to be there. It will be a much different city after all this, but that could be a real improvement! What gets built back will, I hope, not be large scale government housing projects that did nothing but encourage criminals to take advantage of the poorest citizens and robbed people of any hope at all. I'm guessing that those who escaped from those hell-holes are likely to NEVER return. I'm sure they've found much nicer places to live with better schools for their kids, more opportunities for improving their lives, and are thankful they're out of New Orleans.
I don't remember where, but I read that a poll of the ones who had to be relocated reveals that 85% of them do not plan on returning to New Orleans. It would be interesting to see a poll like that broken down by city and by those living in paid-for, temporary motel rooms.
My son was talking to a AA female at the grocery store here in North Central Arkansas. She got a job almost as soon as she got here and plans to stay. She said she loves it here.
I'd like to see those stats, too - how many of those relocated got jobs like she did. With jobs, a person wouldn't be as inclined to return to the unknown.