Unheeded warnings, poor planning and apathy in recognising the scope of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction led to the slow emergency response from the White House down to local officials, a damning US government investigation says.

New Orleans’ elections for mayor and City Council, scheduled for next February, have been postponed for up to eight months because of the damage and dislocation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

SOME of New Orleans’ most popular neighbourhoods officially reopened to residents yesterday, a move that could bring back about a third of the city’s half a million inhabitants.

A combative Michael Brown blamed the Louisiana governor, the New Orleans mayor and even the Bush White House that appointed him for his agency’s dismal response to Hurricane Katrina in a fiery appearance before Congress.

OUTER bands of rain from Hurricane Rita began falling in New Orleans yesterday and forecasts of between eight and 13 centimetres of rainfall in the coming days raised fears the patched levee system could fail and flood the city all over again.

Thousands of residents fled the Florida Keys as Tropical Storm Rita barrelled toward land, poised to grow into a hurricane with a potential nine-foot storm surge and sparking fears it could eventually ravage the Gulf Coast.

The Mayor of New Orleans has suspended the reopening of large portions of the city and ordered nearly everyone out because of the risk of a new round of flooding from another tropical storm.

President George Bush is spending much of his time on relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina after his administration was harshly criticised for an initial response to the storm called slow and inadequate.

THE mayor of New Orleans lashed out at US President George W Bush yesterday, demanding to know why he has failed to co-ordinate a successful relief operation.

There are worries over the location of some Irish citizens caught up in the disaster stricken US city New Orleans, a Government minister said today.

Hurricane Katrina probably killed thousands of people in New Orleans, the city’s mayor said today.

Army engineers trying to plug New Orleans’ breached levees struggled to move giant sandbags and concrete barriers into place, and the governor said today the situation was growing more desperate and there was no choice but to abandon the flooded city.

Rick Wilking, New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina smashed into New Orleans today, knocking out power and submerging part of the low-lying city in up to 6ft of water.

Hurricane Katrina ripped away part of the roof on the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans today as thousands of storm refugees huddled inside.