Big winds blow-where's everyone now?

The USA Today story linked to today's post title got me to thinking. First of all, I was surprised that evacuees are not as widely dispersed as I had assumed. Many are close enough to the hurricane ravaged areas to return home, if that is at all an option for them. But the article makes it clear that many are thousands of individuals and families are now living far from the homes from which they have been displaced. What is happening to them?
In an effort to get more people into temporary housing, FEMA has now cut off cash aid to evacuees, according to this story in the Detroit Free Press. And the Red Cross is going to extend funding for temporary housing at hotels for 30 days.
New Orleans is beginning to receive residents and business owners, due to Mayor Nagin's "push-the-envelope" repopulation plans. Though many would disagree with his fast-track schedule, I can really understand his thinking. He, better than many, knows the dangers to New Orleans future if the entire New Orleans area population is dispersed to the winds. Fairly soon after Hurricane Katrina happened, the Rev. Jesse Jackson made me think about the same idea for the first time. That was when the biblical idea of scattering a people away from their homeland came into my head; the term "Diaspora" is discussed here at Wikipedia. At about that time thousands of "evacuees" (we had stopped calling these folks "refugees" by that time) had arrived in our local area, to be warmly welcomed into our very generous county.
Then Hurricane Rita blew in and the exodus started all over again. The Beaumont paper has this story about East Texas evacuees from Hurricane Rita. Here's a hat-tip to Horizon for the link.
As the days passed during late August and the first weeks of September, I had concerns and curiosity about some bloggers who might have been personally impacted by the hurricanes. Houston's Brown Bag, for instance, was unable to post between September 15 and the 29th. And from Beaumont's own Iraqi in America, this post let us know that she and her husband, a photographer for the Beaumont paper, were safe and busy.
My favorite literary blogger, Maud Newton, posted about her personal feelings shortly after the Gulf Coast was hit by Katrina. This is her most recent personal post, letting us know that she, like most of the rest of us, is back on track. But I am in my own home without a hair out of place from any errant winds. I have the luxury of my family, pets, familiar neighbors, my own (unfortunately voluminous) STUFF, and choices about what my day will look like. I am blessed; many evacuees are still separated from home and from family members, by death or distance, or a mystery.
In conclusion, here are some quotes from talented women that might inspire readers to write about their own questions:
http://womenwriters.about.com/cs/womenonwriting/a/quotes.htm