Hurricane Katrina has left at least 55 people dead after slamming into Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Monday with 145-mile-per hour winds. The headlines in this morning’s New Orleans’ Times-Picayune newspaper reads “Catastrophic” and “Katrina: The Storm We’ve Always Feared.” The death toll is expected to rise once rescue units reach the worst hit areas. One million people are without power. The number left homeless is unknown. The true extent of the damage may not be fully comprehended for days. The American Red Cross is describing Katrina as “the largest recovery operation the Red Cross has ever attempted.” However the destruction could have been far worse. The storm had been on target to directly hit downtown New Orleans but it veered to the east. Still some 40,000 homes are underwater in New Orleans. And high winds tore off part of the roof of the Louisiana Superdome stadium.