US: New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin has halted a plan to repopulate the city and ordered all residents to leave immediately as a new hurricane gained strength off the Florida coast.
Tropical storm Rita strengthened yesterday into a Category 2 hurricane and meteorologists fear it could change course in the coming days to batter New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
President George Bush returned to Louisiana and Mississippi yesterday in an effort to show his hands-on leadership of the crisis following criticism of the federal government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina.
Speaking in Gulfport, Mississippi, the president acknowledged that the task of rebuilding storm-hit communities was great and renewed his commitment to giving local and state officials the help they need.
"There is no doubt in my mind that out of the rubble and out of the huge heaps of timber that used to be homes, a better Mississippi will emerge," he said.
The White House yesterday named Frances Fragos Townsend, a homeland security adviser and former federal prosecutor, to lead an inquiry into what went wrong in the aftermath of the hurricane.
Heavy rain lashed the southern Florida Keys yesterday, but many of the area's 80,000 residents refused to leave despite an order to evacuate on Monday. Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Alvarez warned those remaining not to go outdoors until the storm passes.
"Do not underestimate this storm. Stay home. No matter what, we're going to have lousy weather," he said.
Mr Nagin said he was reversing an earlier decision to allow some residents to return to New Orleans because he feared that Hurricane Rita could breach the city's weakened levees.
"We are suspending all re-entry into the city of New Orleans as of this moment. If we are off, I'd rather err on the side of conservatism to make sure we have everyone out," he said.
Some National Guard units began withdrawing from the city yesterday, but there was no sign of the evacuation order being enforced. Mr Nagin's plan to repopulate New Orleans had brought him into conflict with Mr Bush and the top federal official in the city, Vice-admiral Thad Allen, who warned that the move was premature. The mayor accused Mr Allen of overstepping his role by addressing the people of New Orleans directly.
"The admiral is a good man. I respect him. But when he starts talking for the citizens of New Orleans, he's kind of out of his range. There is only one mayor of New Orleans, and I'm it," he said.
Mr Nagin denied that Hurricane Rita had offered him an opportunity to fall in with federal advice, adding that the repopulation plan would proceed as soon as the storm has passed.
The cost of reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina has sparked a debate in Washington about how the bill should be paid, with Mr Bush ruling out tax increases. Republican congressman Peter King said the federal government would have to borrow to pay for the estimated $200 billion (€165 billion) needed to rebuild New Orleans and other places wrecked by the hurricane.
"The problem I have with raising taxes, I think it ends up bringing less revenue in the long run and is counterproductive and slows down the economy."