US President George W Bush will cut short his holiday to return to Washington tomorrow, two days earlier than planned, to monitor federal efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The US president had been scheduled to return to the nation's capital on Friday, after spending more than four weeks operating from his ranch in Central Texas. But after receiving a briefing early today on the devastation Katrina unleashed, the president decided that he needed to be in Washington to personally oversee the federal effort, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
President Bush earlier approved major disaster declarations for the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, clearing the way for the use of federal money to help respond to Hurricane Katrina, the White House said.
"Our Gulf Coast is getting hit and hit hard," Bush said in El Mirage, Arizona. "I want the folks there on the Gulf Coast to know that the federal government is prepared to help you when the storm passes."
The president urged people in the storm's path not to leave their shelters until they are told by local authorities that it is safe enough to do so.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush approved the major disaster declarations aboard Air Force One en route to Arizona.
"This will allow federal funds to start being used to deploy resources to help in those two states," McClellan said. He said the money would be used for "response and recovery" efforts.
AP