Officials today ordered residents to evacuate from the lower Florida Keys as a strengthening Tropical Storm Rita headed toward the island chain, threatening to grow into a hurricane with a potential eight-foot storm surge.

Residents began trickling back today as part of a plan by the mayor to reopen New Orleans one postal code at a time, despite repeated warnings from the top federal official on the scene – and US President George Bush himself – that the city is not ready.

Officials ordered residents evacuated from the lower Florida Keys today as Tropical Storm Rita churned toward the exposed island chain, bringing with it a potential 8-foot storm surge.