Rescue workers are at risk for psychological fallout too. Two New Orleans policemen killed themselves. One, Sergeant Paul Accardo, a department spokesman, was troubled because he couldn't help stranded women who were pleading for water and food, his boss said. He even wanted to help animals lost in the disaster. Unable to stop the unfolding catastrophe, he sank into depression.
And what of people who never set foot in the affected area, but simply soak up image after image of the destruction?
"We've seen a major United States metropolis turn into what appears to be a Third World country ... That's pretty frightening," said Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatry professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
His own son asked whether hurricanes could hit California. Children in particular might suffer nightmares, fears and anxiety from the news coverage, said Small, and he advised parents to speak reassuringly to their kids.
As for adults, the frightening news coverage is a reminder of the hazards of life and a "wake-up call that our government may not always be able to take care of us," he said. In his neighborhood, many people are now taking better earthquake precautions, which he called a healthy reaction.
But Small said that like public concern following the Sept. 11 attacks, he expects the general public's alarm over Katrina to gradually fade.
"We get into this crisis mode," he said, and then "we go back to our usual ways and we adjust to it."
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