Mitch's cataclysmic effects will be felt in Central America long after the flood waters recede. We're a pretty smug society these days.
Unemployment is low.
Crime is down. Paulo earlier this year triggered only a relatively mild aftershock on Wall Street, at least so far. Go to Honduras and Nicaragua to see what a real disaster looks like. Nicaraguan Vice President Enrique Bolanos says that the current cataclysm is far worse than the 1972 Managua earthquake that killed 10,000 people. The toll is about 2,000 this time, he notes, but the entire country is affected this time.