New Orleans mopping up
2008-09-03 07:25
New Orleans - Workers mopped up New
Orleans after Hurricane Gustav and officials told residents
they could come home on Thursday to a darkened city still
struggling to restore power and basic services.
Almost all US energy production in the Gulf of Mexico
remained shut on Tuesday but producers said they found little
damage to refineries or offshore platforms.
Officials said full output from the Gulf region, home to 25%
of US crude oil production, could take two weeks.
US President George W Bush, roundly criticised in 2005
for a slow response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina,
declared a major disaster in Louisiana ahead of his visit to
the state on Wednesday.
That declaration cleared the way for federal aid to cover
temporary housing for evacuees and low-cost loans for uninsured
property losses.
Half of New Orleans still lacked power, the sewage system
was damaged and hospitals had only skeleton crews. But Gustav's
floodwaters ebbed, easing pressure on the storm barriers that
failed during Katrina three years ago, when 80% of the
city was flooded and thousands of people were stranded.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said a mandatory evacuation
order would be lifted at midnight on Wednesday, telling the 95%
of the city's residents who fled that they could start
to come home early on Thursday.
"The message is: We want you to come into the city, check
on your property, make sure that you are comfortable and make
an intelligent decision on whether you want to stay in this
environment or not," Nagin told reporters.
But New Orleans remained in a "vulnerable state", he said,
after a "stealth storm" that damaged the region in ways that
were not as visible as the destruction caused by Katrina.
Authorities credited the massive evacuation in Louisiana -
some 1.9 million people fled the coast as Gustav roared across
the Gulf of Mexico - with saving lives. The state has reported
six storm-related deaths.
The powerful hurricane earlier killed nearly 100 people in
the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.
US disaster officials turned their eye to new, dangerous
storms churning in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Hanna was
moving through the Bahamas and threatened the US east coast
from Florida to the Carolinas, and tropical storms Ike and
Josephine trekked westward toward the Caribbean.
Waiting in cars
Gustav's aftermath in New Orleans provided a stark contrast
to that of Katrina three years ago, when looters roamed the
streets and rescue helicopters buzzed over the city, plucking
thousands of people from rooftops and bridges.
This time, workers with brooms and rakes cleaned up fallen
leaves and branches. Soldiers and police let in emergency crews
but turned away residents, patrolling conspicuously in vehicles
with flashing lights to deter looting.
New Orleans police said they had arrested only two people
for looting during the storm. A curfew would remain in effect
even after residents begin to return, Nagin said.
Some parishes near New Orleans reopened to residents as
police checkpoints snarled returning traffic. Near LaPlace,
some 40km west of New Orleans, cars and trucks were
backed up for about five kilometres on Interstate 10 with police
ordering about half of those approaching to turn back.
Some callers to radio stations said they had run out of
money for hotels and were sitting in their cars, with children,
on highways outside the city waiting for permission to return.
Louisiana Gov Bobby Jindal said utilities and regulators
had said it could take up to six weeks to restore full power.
"I made it clear that is unacceptable," he said. "We have
to do everything possible to make sure that happens more
quickly."
'Move to next level'
Some of those who stayed behind seemed determined to live
up to the New Orleans motto - "Let the good times roll."
The French Quarter, the heart of the city, began coming
back to life as proprietors of bars, cafes and galleries took
down storm shutters, swept up debris and reopened their doors.
"I guess if somebody came in we could make a sale, why not?
It's over with, we've got to move on to the next level," Louis
Sahuc said at his gallery in the French Quarter, where Gustav
ripped off some shutters and punched in windows.
Relief agencies turned their attention to feeding and
housing evacuees for a few more days. The American Red Cross
had 60 000 people in shelters across the Gulf on Monday night.
At one point a 240km/h monster, Gustav barged
ashore on the Gulf Coast on Monday as a weaker storm with 177km/h winds. Many had feared a repeat of the damage
caused by Katrina, the costliest hurricane in US history.
Gustav landed southwest of New Orleans but proved a crucial
test for levees that collapsed during Katrina, which killed
1 500 people and caused $80bn in damage.
The levees are being rebuilt and will not be finished until
2011 but they did not break. Water surged over floodwalls and
squirted through cracks but the city stayed mainly dry.