Residents along the Texas and Louisiana coasts began clearing away debris today as crews worked to restore electricity to more than one million customers in four states after Hurricane Rita tore through the US Gulf Coast, causing less damage than feared.

Three million Americans evacuated before Hurricane Rita pummelled east Texas and the Louisiana coast, were urged not to hurry home today.

Hurricane Rita is expected to destroy almost 5,700 homes and affect more than five million Texans when it slams into the US coast overnight, officials said.

CARS clogged Texas highways as 1.5 million people fleed Hurricane Rita yesterday.

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 4 storm packing 135-mph winds as it churned into the Gulf of Mexico early today.

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 4 storm packing 135-mph winds as it churned into the Gulf of Mexico early today.

Hurricane Rita strengthened to a dangerous Category 3 storm early today, sparing the Florida Keys but prompting mandatory orders to once again evacuate New Orleans as well as the Texas city of Galveston.

Hurricane Rita strengthened into a Category 3 storm with 115 mph winds early today after lashing the Florida Keys and sparking anxiety as it headed into the Gulf of Mexico.

NEW Orleans awaited the reopening of its airport and waterfront yesterday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit, as the coroner planned autopsies on at least 44 patients found dead at a flooded hospital.

THE new acting director of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) yesterday pledged to intensify efforts to find more permanent housing for the tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors in shelters.

US President George Bush today took “full responsibility” for government failures in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and said the disaster raised broader questions about the government’s ability to respond to natural disasters as well as terror attacks.

The new acting director of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency today pledged to intensify efforts to find more permanent housing for the tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina survivors now in shelters.