Gustav evacuees return to New Orleans; Bush visits state

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
New Orleans' mayor, faced with irate residents clamoring to return home, reluctantly allowed hurricane evacuees back in Wednesday, while US President George W. Bush visited the state in a bid to burnish his administration reputation after its botched handling of Hurricane Katrina three years earlier. Most city neighborhoods did not have power, hospitals were running on generators and most businesses remained shuttered. Mayor Ray Nagin wanted residents to wait until Thursday, but said he felt he had no choice but to lift the mandatory evacuation, because surrounding communities had started to let people back in. Worried about potential looting of still-vacant properties, he said the city would maintain its dusk-to-dawn curfew indefinitely. "In my humble opinion, I think we're forcing the issue, but we're just going to deal with it," Nagin told WWL-TV. "I am really uncomfortable with this repopulation right now."