|
US prays for Katrina victims
16/09/2005 18:56 - (SA)
New Orleans - The United States staged nationwide prayers on Friday for victims of Hurricane Katrina as efforts to revive New Orleans, aided by a recovery plan sketched by President George W Bush, picked up speed.
After spelling out his ambitious recovery initiative in a key speech late on Thursday, Bush joined worshippers at Washington's National Cathedral, and others services and prayers were to be staged across the country throughout the day.
Facing a battering in the opinion polls for his handling of the disaster, Bush used the historic backdrop of New Orleans' French Quarter to acknowledge responsibility for the government's failures and promise the city would be rebuilt with a massive aid effort.
Bush said: "The system, at every level of government, was not well co-ordinated, and was overwhelmed in the first few days.
"Four years after the frightening experience of September 11, Americans have every right to expect a more-effective response in a time of emergency.
Job-creating investment
"When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I, as president, am responsible for the problem, and for the solution."
Bush said there would be immediate incentives for job-creating investment, including "recovery accounts" of up to $5 000 (about R32 000) for job-seekers, for training and childcare.
The president gave no detail as to whether his scheme would cost more than the $62bn already allotted by congress, but said the recovery programme would be "one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen".
He pledged: "We will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives.
"And, all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know: There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again."
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has said business owners can start to return to the city from Saturday.
Ophelia downgraded
From Monday, 180 000 residents could start returning in a phased operation to districts that have been the least hit and where basic services have been restored.
While New Orleans made faltering steps toward recovery, Hurricane Ophelia, the seventh of the hurricane season, inflicted floods and power cuts on about 100 000 people in North Carolina.
But, it eased as the day wore on and was downgraded to a tropical storm, swirling in the western Atlantic about 100km off the coast of North Carolina, said the national hurricane centre on Friday.
- AFP
|
News
