Many columns have been written on Tech Central Station in the last few weeks about what the federal government should do in response to Katrina. Unfortunately, given the nature of political responses to disaster, many of the policy suggestions they contain will likely be ignored by the administration and Congress.

The next best thing to do now is to follow and review what the federal government is doing to respond to the Gulf Coast devastation in order to best assess the adequacy and cost-effectiveness of the response. As such, we thought that a list of what has been done so far would be a useful resource.

Housing

• 122,000 people are currently housed in shelters throughout all 50 states and D.C.