Bush: New Orleans renewal is underway
President Bush admits that many challenges await New Orleans residents
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Tuesday, 29, Aug 2006 07:51
US president George Bush has told residents in New Orleans that there is a "sense of renewal" about the city, which is marking the first anniversary of hurricane Katrina.
Last year's storm devastated the Louisiana city, and Mr Bush had previously warned that while progress had been made in cleaning up neighbourhoods which were battered by floods in the aftermath of last year's natural disaster, there was still more work to be done to restore New Orleans to its pre-Katrina state.
But addressing a crowd in the suburb of Biloxi, the president emphasised that the situation in the city was changing for the better.
"It may be hard for those of you who have endured the last year to really have that sense of change, but for a fellow who was here and now a year later comes back, things are changing. And I congratulate you for your courage and your perseverance," he said.
"And there are still challenges. There's still more to be done. You can see it with the temporary trailers. I feel the quiet sense of determination that's going to shape the future of Mississippi. And so I've come back on this anniversary to thank you for your courage, and to let you know the federal government stands with you still," Mr Bush added.
The president has insisted that $110 billion in federal funds pledged to help rebuild the area was proof of the government's commitment to help people in the region.
But the US president has acknowledged that some remained frustrated about the progress of the rebuilding programme, with the first anniversary of hurricane Katrina likely to revive criticisms of the US government's slow response to the crisis.
"We understand people are still anxious to get into their homes. People hear about help and wonder where it is. We know that," admitted Mr Bush.
Mississippi senator Trent Lott said that while progress was being made to rebuild the region in the wake of hurricane Katrina, which killed over 1,500 people, frustrations over the performance of the federal emergency management agency and the US flood insurance programme remained.
In New Orleans, many of the neighbourhoods hit by flooding have yet to be rebuilt and only about 200,000 of the city's original population of almost half a million have returned following the disaster.
Wreaths will later be laid in neighbourhoods devastated by floods after the city's levees were breached by the powerful hurricane.
A jazz procession will also make its way through the streets of New Orleans in remembrance of those who died in the city last year.