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Bush on Third Visit to New Orleans, Devastated US Gulf Coast
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(http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=EF3884:3919ACA

President to receive detailed briefing on recovery efforts, then tour
city in military convoy and meet with local officials 





President Bush greets firefighters while visiting a first-responders
base camp in Algiers, La., on the outskirts of New OrleansPresident
Bush will tour the flood-damaged streets of New Orleans Monday during
his third visit to the U.S. Gulf Coast since the region was devastated
by Hurricane Katrina two weeks ago.

Mr. Bush flew to New Orleans late Sunday and spent the night aboard a
naval vessel that brought helicopters to the battered city. Monday,
the president will receive a detailed briefing on recovery efforts,
then tour the city in a military convoy and meet with local officials.

Later he heads to Gulfport, Mississippi, where damage from Hurricane
Katrina was even more extensive than in New Orleans.

The official death toll from the storm now stands at more than 400
(including 197 bodies recovered in Louisiana and over 200 dead in
Mississippi), but is expected to grow considerably higher.

Swiss Reinsurance, One of the world's biggest insurance firms says
Hurricane Katrina ultimately will cost underwriters around the world
$40 billion, twice the original estimate. Including costs borne by
governments and expenditures by humanitarian organizations, the
storm's total cost could be more than three times that figure.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.




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