Mayor Ray Nagin gave New Orleans residents the go-ahead to return to the US city today, but with several warnings – many homes were without electricity or working toilets and a dusk-to-dawn curfew is still in effect.

New Orleans, still in a mess amid an achingly slow pace of recovery across the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Katrina’s strike, did not warrant a mention by US President George Bush on the year’s biggest night for showcasing US policy priorities.

The damage inflicted by Hurricane Rita paled in comparison to Katrina, Texas Governor Rick Perry said today – but urged evacuees to stay where they are until local officials say it’s all right to return.

Hurricane Rita steamed toward refinery towns along the Texas-Louisiana coast with 120mph winds early today, creating havoc even before it arrived.

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.

Twenty-two people lay dead and hundreds of homes were in ruins today in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.

HURRICANE Ivan slammed into the Gulf Coast early yesterday with 130mph winds, launching tornadoes, washing out a major bridge, hurling metal signs through the night and killing at least 12 people.

Hurricane Ivan slammed into the southern coast of the United States today, claiming at least 12 lives and causing widespread damage.

Apprehensive coastal residents from Florida’s Panhandle to Louisiana started boarding up windows, packing and hitting the road today as powerful Hurricane Ivan headed for the Gulf Coast after ploughing across Cuba.

US POLICE and the FBI are scouring the country for a man accused of murdering five women in southern Louisiana after a DNA dragnet linked him to one of the slayings.