It is the storm that no one on the Gulf Coast wanted to see. But Hurricane Katrina plowed ashore this morning.

New Orleans residents and more have been evacuated, their homes and city itself imperiled. Crude-oil futures have spiked for the first time to more than $70 a barrel on fear of Gulf Coast destruction.

The insurance industry is bracing for an onslaught of claims. In a world of crowded coastlines, warming seas and fierce storms, the stakes are rising.

On Point goes into the eye of Katrina, and beyond, to look at the global trail of storm surges.

Guests:

Kerry Emanuel, Professor of Meteorology at the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Author of a forthcoming book on hurricanes “Divine Wind.”

Roger Pielke, Jr., Director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado.
Author of “Hurricanes: Their Nature and Impact on Society.”

Bill Bailey. Managing director, Hurricane Insurance Information Center

Frank Verrastro, Director of the Energy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

Nick Spitzer, Producer and host of the public radio series “American Roots.” He evacuated New Orleans last night.