In the raucous French Quarter, about a half-mile from
where Nagin made his announcement, businesses were getting up and
running, and bars were serving cold beers to National Guardsmen and
passers-by.
A sign against US President George W. Bush and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) is hung in front of a house in the Algiers
neighborhood of New Orleans, three weeks after hurricane Katrina hit
the city. Hurricane Katrina's relief supremo urged New Orleans to hold
back on plans to let tens of thousands of evacuees return home from
Monday, warning the storm-wrecked city remained unsafe.(AFP/Omar Torres)\ Poll: 43 Pct. of Evacuees Want to Go Home
Forty-three percent said they want to move back home when they
can. About the same number of evacuees — 44 percent — said they want to
permanently relocate, and most of them wanted to stay in Houston, said
the poll published Friday.
The slow response to the storm strained faith in government. Six
in 10 said the experience has made them feel that the government
doesn't care about people like them.
But their religious faith has been strengthened, eight in 10 said. And 90 percent were hopeful about the future.
More than half of their homes were destroyed. Two-thirds were renting their homes and a third were owners.
Almost three-fourths don't have insurance to cover their losses.
More than half didn't have health insurance, a usable credit
card with them, or a bank or checking account from which they could
withdraw money.
Nearly three-fourths heard before the hurricane hit that an evacuation order had been given; a fourth did not.
More than two-thirds said they didn't evacuate because they
didn't realize how bad the storm and its aftermath would be. More than
half — 55 percent — said one factor was that they didn't have a car or
a way to leave. Source: San Francisco Chronicle
