Bush surveys Gustav response as evacuees head home

By Tim Gaynor

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - President George W. Bush made a quick visit to Louisiana on Wednesday to survey damage from Hurricane Gustav as New Orleans officials lifted roadblocks to allow tens of thousands who fled the city to return despite widespread power outages.

Bush, widely criticized for a slow response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said government "was much better coordinated this time than we were with Katrina," which killed 1,500 people and caused $80 billion in damages.

But after a briefing by emergency service providers in the state capital of Baton Rouge, Bush said much work was left to be done, most importantly restoring power to 1.1 million homes and business.

He did not visit New Orleans, which escaped the brunt of the storm and saw its vulnerable levees hold, and said the thrust of relief efforts targeted hard-hit rural areas.

Nearly 2 million people fled the Louisiana coast, including some 95 percent of New Orleans' residents -- an unprecedented exodus credited with saving lives.

New Orleans officials lifted police roadblocks to allow residents to return, and cars and trucks packed with families, bedding, cats and dogs streamed back into the city.

Although the scars of Katrina and subsequent flooding from the levees' collapse are all too evident three years later, especially in places like New Orleans' poor Lower Ninth Ward, many said the government did a better job this time.

"The levees held up pretty nice, they got everybody out of here this time," said construction worker Larry Taylor, who stayed behind in his Lower Ninth Ward house. "I think people are starting to trust them a little bit now."

Louisiana reported just six deaths in the immediate wake of the storm. And New Orleans police said they had arrested only two people for looting during the storm.

That was a stark contrast to Katrina's aftermath, when looters roamed the streets and rescue helicopters plucked thousands of people from rooftops and bridges.

ELECTRIC POWER TOP PRIORITY

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said residents should come check out their property and decide if they want to stay under difficult conditions, while City Council President Jackie Clarkson warned they would find a city that is "dark and hot."

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, praised for his leadership during his first major storm as governor, said power was his biggest worry and he wouldn't stand for delays.

"I can't emphasize this enough," he said. "It is the number one obstacle to a quick recovery of our impacted region."

The region's oil industry might also face delays in getting started due to the lack of electricity for refineries shut down ahead of the storm's arrival on Monday.