The final portion of storm-savaged New Orleans was open to residents on Wednesday, with road blocks lifted at a neighbourhood nearly obliterated during hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Mayor Ray Nagin cleared the way for displaced residents to return to the Lower Ninth Ward for the first time since storms and flooding laid waste to the working-class neighborhood.
”It is important for people to see their homes and move forward with the process of building a new future for their families,” Nagin said in a statement.
”Since the area sustained heavy damage, we urge everyone to take the necessary precautions to remain safe as they return.”
Phased returns to New Orleans began on September 30, with people allowed to check on their homes and businesses in the French Quarter and other less-damaged parts of the city.
Residents who venture back into the Lower Ninth were asked to ”look and leave”, lingering only long enough to survey their properties and salvage whatever belongings possible. Visitation hours were set at 8am to 6pm. Police and Army National Guard officers will patrol the area, according to Nagin.
A canal levee lining the neighbourhood broke in two places during the hurricanes, and flood water washed away blocks of homes. A barge that came in with the water remained atop houses and a public school bus on Tuesday.
The Army Corps of Engineers is still working on temporary repairs to the breaches in the levee.
Residents who return to the neighbourhood were advised to wear gloves, boots and overalls, as well as breathing masks to protect from dust, mold and other airborne contaminants.
Residents were also advised to get tetanus shots and watch out for animals, domestic and wild, that might be dangerously hungry or disoriented from weeks spent surviving in the desolate area. – AFP
