Thousands return to New Orleans

Thousands of residents of suburban New Orleans returned yesterday to inspect homes wrecked by Hurricane Katrina and President George W. Bush went back to the disaster zone to quell a political crisis over bungled aid efforts.

The search for storm victims went on as rescuers in boats, helicopters and military vehicles went house to house looking for people still stranded a week after Katrina blew through, causing massive flooding and destruction.

Pressed to give an estimate of the deathtoll, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin told NBC's Today Show that a figure of 10,000 "wouldn't be unreasonable."

Many of the dead were not hard to find. Swollen bodies floated in flooded streets and police advised passersby to steer clear.

While people began to go back to outlying areas, police said New Orleans itself, the home of jazz and Mardi Gras, should stay out of bounds. The city was flooded when last week's storm burst protective levees.

"We advise people that this city has been destroyed, it has completely been destroyed," said Deputy Police Chief Warren Riley.

In suburban Jefferson Parish, stunned residents got their first glimpse of the damage wrought by Katrina when it struck Louisiana with 225 kilometre per hour winds and a massive storm surge.

They were greeted by a panorama of toppled trees and street signs, and spacious middle-class homes that had been flooded with several feet of water.

"I try to be upbeat but it's devastating. I may lose my house because I may not be able to make my payments, and I don't know when I'm going to work again," said Mark Becker, 48, at his Metairie home.

Storm winds had ripped two holes in his roof and caused the ceiling to collapse in a bedroom and kitchen.

Others said the damage could have been worse. They said their homes were mostly intact and salvageable.

Many of those going back brought guns or friends or both for protection in case they encountered looters.

The Jefferson Parish government urged its residents not to stay in their homes, but to gather items they needed and leave by nightfall because power and water had not been restored.

Mr Bush, who has faced fierce criticism for the slow relief response, visited dozens of Katrina victims being cared for at a prayer centre in Baton Rouge and promised the country would "do what it takes" to help people get back on their feet.

It was the second trip to the ravaged region in less than a week for Mr Bush, already suffering from the lowest public approval ratings of his presidency, largely because of the war in Iraq. He had already acknowledged the initial relief effort was "unacceptable."

Mr Bush said he wanted to "let the good people of this region know there's a lot of work to be done. "We can help save lives once a person finds a shelter such as this," he said. "The response of this country has been amazing."

But the New Orleans Times-Picayune, in an open letter, called upon Mr Bush to fire every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"We're angry, Mr. President," the newspaper said. Mr Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, travelled to Houston with fellow former president, Bill Clinton, to establish a fund for disaster victims. The Wal-Mart retail chain and Walton Family Foundation gave $23 million.

The official death toll in Louisiana stood at 59, but the state government said that was just known dead and the number would grow, perhaps into the thousands. Well over 100 deaths have been confirmed in neighbouring Mississippi.

While many of the dead were out in the open, officials said most were likely buried under piles of rubble or hidden in attics where they took refuge from rising waters.

Police and military troops were regaining control of the city after days of murder, rape and looting that horrified America and the world. On Sunday, police shot and killed two people in a shootout on a bridge in eastern New Orleans, Deputy Police Chief Riley said yesterday. Police initially said they had killed four people in the incident.

About 600 of New Orleans' 1,641 police officers are themselves unaccounted for, according to Mr Riley, who said they had faced the same problems as other residents when the storm hit, losing homes and scrambling to help relatives.

Temporary morgues were being set up around the region to store bodies.

But lights were going on in some neighbourhoods of the stricken city as the local power company began restoring electricity.

The US Army Corps of Engineers said it was making progress in repairing levees and could begin pumping water out yesterday. Still, draining the entire city could take 80 days or more.

At least 240,000 refugees had flooded into neighbouring Texas, where Governor Rick Perry said the state could handle no more and requested that those still pouring in be airlifted to other states.