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Obama to head to hurricane-ravaged Gulf coast
Washington (AFP) Sept 29, 2009 Barack Obama will make his first trip as US president next month to the US southern Gulf Coast, which is still struggling to rebuild, four full years after deadly Hurricane Katrina. The White House said Obama wanted to see "first-hand the progress in the region," since Katrina slammed into the coast in August 2005, triggering a disaster which killed nearly 1,500 people and left tens of thousands homeless. Officials did not give exact times and dates for Obama's trip, but he will be expected to visit the city of New Orleans, which bore the brunt of Katrina and still has many derelict and decaying areas. Katrina also badly affected parts of Louisiana outside of New Orleans, as well as parts of the southern states of Alabama and Mississippi. Obama also was expected to visit projects dedicated to recovery victims of Hurricane Rita, which tore ashore in Texas in September 2005 and sent a fresh storm surge into Louisiana, nearly four weeks after Katrina hit. The administration said it had cut bureaucratic red tape and freed up a billion dollars in recovery funding since coming to office for projects related to Katrina and Rita. "The administration is deeply committed to serving the needs of Gulf Coast residents," the White House said in a statement. Katrina is remembered as a terrible chapter of recent US history, and also as a potent reminder to political leaders. The former Bush administration's botched handling of the disaster marked the start of a desperate political descent, and came to be seen as an emblem of former president George W. Bush's failures. In a radio address to the American people in August to mark the fourth anniversary of Katrina, Obama vowed that his country would never forget the tragedy. "None of us can forget how we felt when those winds battered the shore, the floodwaters began to rise, and Americans were stranded on rooftops and in stadiums," he said. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Philippine flood survivors flock to presidential palaceManila (AFP) Sept 29, 2009 Hundreds of Philippine flood survivors poured into the presidential palace on Tuesday after President Gloria Arroyo threw open the seat of government as part of disaster relief efforts. In a series of extraordinary scenes, street sweepers and other members of Manila's poorest sectors flocked to Malacanang Palace in search of food, medicine and shelter. The first arrivals included about 3 ... read more |
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