Obama surveys New Orleans recovery efforts

Obama visits New Orleans

New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and is still the worst natural disaster to befall the United States. Killing 1,836 people, displacing one million, and causing USD$90.9 billion worth of damage, the city still hasn't fully recovered. At the time of the disaster, Barack Obama accused President Bush of sitting on his hands "while a major American city drowns", but now he is set to visit the city for the first time since becoming president to see how the city's recovery is progressing.

President Obama's visit has already been met with criticism from the Republican Party who have slammed the fact that the President will only be there for a few hours and that he won't be visiting other areas affected by the hurricane such as Waveland, Mississippi that saw almost every standing structure was destroyed or damaged.

Tommy Longo, mayor of Waveland said to AP, "I'm greatly disappointed he's not coming to Mississippi."

Since the disaster, the US government has put more than $1 billion into the city of New Orleans creating over 1,000 construction projects to rebuild roads, bridges, schools and health centres. Even Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, has said Obama's team has brought a practical and flexible approach to the reconstruction process. "There's a sense of momentum and a desire to get things done," he said to the BBC.

While it may only be the President's first trip, his administration has made 35 trips to the region since March. Since his inauguration, the Federal Government has committed more than $126 billion to rebuilding Gulf Coast communities affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. In the past nine months, the administration says more than $1.4 billion in additional federal aid has gone toward repairing and rebuilding Louisiana and $160 million more to Mississippi.

White House officials have also managed to cut through the red tape to get federal assistance moving as well as rehousing more than 3,500 people.

The improvements can also be measured. In the 11 months of Obama's presidency, FEMA has resolved 76 of 120 Louisiana reconstruction projects that were stalled in federal-state disputes.

However, much still needs to be done; over 204,000 homes were destroyed during the hurricane and only one in six schools have reopened in the worst affected parts of the city.

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