News

There was relief for residents and visitors to New Orleans this week when Hurricane Gustav turned out to be less severe than had been feared.

Some predictions from forecasters had warned that the storm could reach category four strength by the time it hit land on 1 September, which would have theoretically made it more severe than Hurricane Katrina.

Gustav was rated only as a category two storm when it moved over New Orleans, although it still managed to cause severe flooding, cut power to millions of homes and sink a ferry.

City mayor Ray Nagin warned that, while the worst of the hurricane had passed, residents and visitors should not yet be considering returning to New Orleans.

'[Tuesday] is not a day for you to come back to the city of New Orleans,' he said.

'We need the streets clear to clear debris, fix power lines and do things we need to so you can come back in.'

A number of air carriers made cancellations on 1 September owing to the severe weather but Continental Airlines announced today that it was preparing to resume flights at selected airports.

Cities where the airline planned to provide regular services on 2 September included Fort Walton Beach in Florida and Jackson in Mississippi.

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