When Hurricane Katrina struck, the whole world watched in shock and horror how the hard work of generations melted away into nothingness. The images of death and mass destruction shook the world community from its roots. In the blink of an eye we saw the hopes and dreams of residents shatter to bits in the devastating storm.

As the storm receded and news anchors brought to the TV sets the true extent of the damage, one naturally wondered if places like Mississippi would ever recover from this catastrophe. Furthermore, people began to wonder if it is wise to revive low lying city areas like New Orleans, which are prone to hurricanes.

But, the citizens of the United States, including those living in the great state of Mississippi, do not roll over and quit so easily. The damage and destruction will in fact take several years, if not decades, to recover from. However, due to necessity, some forms of recovery will have to occur at a faster pace than others due to their importance to the health of Mississippi and that of the United States itself.

The state of Mississippi is clearly the gatekeeper for the mighty Mississippi river. This river is an economic necessity to the vitality of the United States and indeed to the state of Mississippi itself. The river is used as a transportation conduit that sends millions of tons of products up the river every year. Hurricane Katrina temporarily impaired the ability of people to use the Mississippi for transportation services and thus severely impaired the local and national economy.

In addition to being a gateway to the river, Mississippi is also a state where a substantial part of the nation's energy is converted into a consumable form such as petrol, diesel and gasoline apart for other petroleum products. The hurricane Katrina seems to have impaired all the facilities that are responsible for energy production located on and just off the coast of Mississippi. Hence the damage has its impact across the nation.

In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, the severe disruption to refining capacity caused a large spike in energy prices as the nation struggled to cope with the devastation. No less than 25 percent of the nation's petroleum comes from the Gulf Coast states and Mississippi is vital to that industry. In fact, petroleum and its products account for 80% of Mississippi's total mineral production.

The offshore fishing industry in Mississippi also suffered due to the hurricane. Biloxi is a major hub for the shrimp industry and it was virtually wiped out by Katrina.

Despite the terrible destruction of Hurricane Katrina the state will not only survive, it will eventually thrive. The dedication with which the Gulf Coast states like Mississippi are being rebuilt and the kind of money that is going into it will ultimately create a stronger state with an even brighter economic future.