While I was in Houston I learned that several of the people that had migrated from New Orleans a year ago stayed in Houston rather than go back. I don't know what Houston's population is now, but it's probably a good 100,000 more than it "should" be. [And by "should" I'm referring to the fact that the displacement of people is more permanent than what was supposed to occur.]
Only half of New Orleans' population has returned to the city a year after Hurricane Katrina hit. And as we hit the 1-year marking of the hurricane's landfall (I think the actual anniversary was back on Tuesday) several site engines (namely ESPN, CNN, and the Weather Channel) have had inspirational stories about people having been displaced and their respective stories, regardless of whether they returned or not.
One of the "new" friends I made over the summer (we were both in Music History but I didn't know her then) went to a university in New Orleans for her freshman year but transferred to Olaf after news got out that the other school was going to be closed for some time. I think her family still in lives in southern LA (probably in an area that didn't get hit) but I got to hear another story about how the hurricane impacted someone's life. I mean, I've read stories about various people (athletes namely) who either have been displaced or donated to the cause, but primary sources are more convincing for me (probably because I don't learn about them on the internet).
New Orleans is still a dump. There's no water in the streets (probably haven't been since last September) but there are still a lot of broken buildings and damaged plant life, and the mayor is trying to recruit the ex-townspeople to return, albeit rather unsuccessfully. I'd compare New Orleans' trainwreck to St. Luke's, but then again, New Orleans didn't deserve to lose their people.