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Louisiana, Texas bail out from RitaLocal officials criticize pace of recovery efforts
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSCAMERON, Louisiana (CNN) -- As flooded communities bailed out from Hurricane Rita's aftermath on Monday, local officials in Texas and Louisiana expressed frustration at the pace of state and federal assistance. Rita landed its knockout punch northeast of Galveston in Texas and west of New Orleans, deluging the Louisiana parishes of Cameron, Vermilion and Calcasieu and Jefferson County in Texas. Aerial photographs showed the storm reduced rows of homes along the Cameron Parish shoreline to nothing but splintered remains and empty foundations. The flooded countryside of the largely rural area was dotted by the carcasses of some 4,000 to 5,000 cattle. The top military relief commander, Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, traveled to the region by helicopter, overseeing search and rescue operations. (Watch video of Honore's mission in a drowned town -- 2:36) Declaring search and rescue operations completed, Honore compared Rita's low death toll to the storm's predecessor. "Rita was a girl -- compared to a big lady -- a mean lady named Katrina." Rita's death toll is seven so far -- while more than 1,000 deaths have been blamed on Katrina, which slammed into Louisiana on August 29, blasting 140 mph winds. Honore said his next step will be to set up a military-style tent city in hard-hit Lake Charles, Louisiana, to help city leaders return the community to normal. (See video on Cameron residents' resilience -- 2:18) Rita roared ashore Saturday morning near the Texas-Louisiana border with 120 mph winds tearing neighborhoods to bits and leaving some areas under up to 15 feet of water. (Watch latest video of Louisiana devastation -- 2:35) Much of the hurricane-hit area had been evacuated ahead of the storm, contributing to the low death toll, although a Rita-spawned tornado killed one person in Mississippi, and a Texas man died from a falling tree. (City-by-city impact) In Beaumont, Texas, the bodies of a man, a woman and three children -- who apparently were overcome by fumes from a generator -- were found in an apartment, authorities told The Associated Press. Another 24 people died Friday when a bus carrying evacuated nursing home residents caught fire on Interstate 45 south of Dallas. New estimates of insured losses range from $2.5 billion to $7 billion. (Full story) 'This is our turn'In Vermilion Parish -- population 50,000 -- Connie Mason shed tears as she told how Rita ravaged her town of Erath. "Everybody's in the same condition and the whole town is flooded," Mason said. "Not everyone got water, but you watch the poor people [after] Katrina and say, 'Thank God it wasn't us.' This is our turn." Days after Rita's rising waters trapped many in Vermilion Parish, the sheriff said everyone there has been accounted for, but he blasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency for not acting quickly enough to help residents. "I wish for once FEMA would cut all the red tape and expedite the supplies and the services needed for all of these people who have lost their homes," Sheriff Michael Couvillon told CNN. He added, "This is the worst flood anybody from Vermilion Parish ever remembered." The sheriff said at least 200 people were rescued in the parish, and that he was satisfied with the help he received from the military and other agencies. "It appears that we had a very successful recovery and evacuation of all people that were stranded," he said. Mayor frustratedIn the Texas towns of Port Arthur and Sabine Pass, officials conducted house-to-house searches for victims or survivors, Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz said. "We basically don't have anything right now," he said. "That's why I'm not allowing people back in here for at least for another three to four days." But, he said, "It didn't get as bad as we thought." Ortiz also said two area refineries had leaks, and that some flooded refineries said it would be three to five weeks before they could resume operations. Rita littered the streets of Nederland, Texas, with trees and debris, but the mayor told CNN he is still waiting for help from the state and federal governments. Mayor Dick Nugent said the city of 17,000 received some damage from Rita, but that the "aftermath that we're fighting seems to be worse than the original storm." Located in Jefferson County, Nederland has no electricity, water or sewer service and is hoping to receive generators so that the city can begin restoring services, he said. Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat who was among the staunchest critics of the federal response to Katrina, said FEMA is doing a better job in response to Rita. "The agency is struggling but making progress every day," Landrieu told reporters. She referred indirectly to former FEMA head Michael Brown, who stepped down amid heavy criticism of the federal response to Katrina. "We needed a new FEMA director; we have a new FEMA director," she said. Meanwhile, Brown told congressional investigators that he is being paid as a consultant to help FEMA assess what went wrong in Katrina's aftermath, according to a senior official familiar with the meeting. Residents returningIn New Orleans, residents and business owners in certain neighborhoods were allowed back into the city Monday morning "to inspect and begin cleanup of their properties," Mayor Ray Nagin announced. (Watch some residents of New Orleans return to their homes for the first time since Katrina hit -- 3:06) Rita pushed water over city levees by about 2 feet -- levees that had been provisionally repaired by sandbags after Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city. Worst hit was the Lower 9th Ward, the first section of New Orleans inundated by Katrina. (Watch: '9th Ward will be dry again within a week' -- 3:32) Residents and business owners in the Algiers neighborhood will be allowed to return Monday, Nagin said in a written statement. Business owners also will be allowed back to the French Quarter, Uptown and the Central Business District. Other areas of the city remain off limits "until further notice." "The task at hand is to bring New Orleans back," Nagin said. "However, we want everyone to assess the risks and make an informed decision about re-entry plans." "You are entering the city of New Orleans at your own risk," Nagin said. Residents in other areas continued streaming home, although officials in parts of Texas and Louisiana urged all but employees of key industries -- like gasoline station attendants -- to stay away until authorities could ensure the areas were safe. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt told CNN that the return of residents was going much more smoothly than their exodus last week, when the evacuation of 2.5 million to 3 million people caused massive traffic jams and 15- to 20-hour delays. Bush focuses on energyAfter visiting the hurricane-hit region during the weekend, President Bush was briefed Monday on the nation's fuel status at the Energy Department. (Full story) Afterward, Bush said he's prepared to tap the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to fill shortages caused by hurricane damage to refineries and pipelines bordering the Gulf of Mexico. (Watch Bush offer to tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve after Rita -- 5:47) He urged Americans to "pitch in" by conserving energy, and said federal employees should cut nonessential travel and be encouraged to car pool. More than 1.2 million customers are without power due to Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the Department of Energy said. CNN's Ed Lavandera, Chris Lawrence, Jamie McIntyre, Miles O'Brien, Soledad O'Brien and Barbara Starr and contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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