US: Plans to allow almost one-third of New Orleans residents to return to the city within a week and a half could open the way to a second disaster, the head of the federal recovery operation warned yesterday. Coast Guard chief Thad Allen said he would try to persuade Mayor Ray Nagin to postpone the return of evacuees when the two men meet today.
Some business owners returned to the city at the weekend and Mr Nagin wants to reopen four districts, homes to 180,000 of the city's half a million residents, by September 26th. Residents of the Algiers district, which escaped major flood damage, will be allowed to return today, although they will be warned at checkpoints that they do so at their own risk.
Vice Admiral Allen warned that, with tap water unfit to drink or bathe in, no electricity in most districts and much of the city still under water, New Orleans was not yet fit to live in. He added that the telecommunications system and emergency services were not equipped to evacuate the city if a second storm struck and the newly repaired levees broke again.
"If you bring significant amounts of people into New Orleans, you need an evacuation plan on how you're going to do that. The announcement to move the repopulation ahead of any of those completed tasks in our view puts the city at risk," he told NBC's Meet the Press.
Mr Nagin wants to revive commerce in New Orleans as quickly as possible but those businesses that have already reopened - such as a handful of luxury hotels housing reconstruction workers and journalists - are generating their own electricity and bringing in their own water supply.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew will remain in place for the foreseeable future and all returning evacuees will be given a written warning at checkpoints as they enter the city.
"You are entering at your own risk. The City of New Orleans remains a hazardous site and ongoing health and safety issues are being assessed You may not be outside between 6pm and 8am, either in a vehicle or on foot. This will be strictly enforced.
"Keep personal identification with you at all times Police and fire services are limited. The 911 system is not fully functional at this time," it says.
Hundreds of thousands of evacuees from New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast are scattered across the United States, thousands of them still sleeping on folding cots in temporary shelters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has faced enduring criticism for its handling of both the evacuation and its aftermath.
Many evacuees are still waiting for emergency financial help that was promised within days of the hurricane and federal officials are squabbling with their counterparts at state level over where to resettle evacuees in the medium term.
In Washington, Republicans have warned President Bush against writing a blank cheque to pay for the reconstruction of New Orleans and other areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. Mr Bush has promised to spend whatever is necessary but has ruled out raising taxes to pay for the estimated $200 billion bill.
The effort will involve repairing public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools and water systems and offering incentives for businesses to move to New Orleans and other cities affected by the hurricane.
Oklahoma Republican Sen Tom Coburn has threatened to delay future emergency spending bills if budget cuts are not made elsewhere to offset the hurricane costs.
Former president Bill Clinton joined other Democrats yesterday in calling on Mr Bush to reverse tax cuts for the highest earners and to scrap plans to abolish inheritance tax.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News opinion poll found that 45 per cent of Americans think that the reconstruction of New Orleans should be funded by cutting the cost of the war in Iraq. More than one in four believe Mr Bush should reverse his tax cuts for the rich.