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La. Lawmakers Join Blanco on Katrina Tour:Posted By: Tom Braswell By DOUG SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer COW ISLAND, La. - Gov. Kathleen Blanco and legislators set out by bus Friday to tour the lingering damage of last fall's Hurricane Rita, a major storm that was overshadowed by the even more destructive Katrina a month earlier.Blanco said the tour of southwestern Louisiana, similar to a ride last month to view Katrina's aftermath, reminded lawmakers of the continuing need for storm recovery work. About two dozen of the Legislature's 143 members joined her. "Every time I come, I see a little more progress," Blanco told the group after they stopped for a lunch of boiled shrimp at the parish courthouse in Cameron. The Category 3 hurricane hit near Johnson Bayou on Sept. 24, causing $15 billion of damage in Louisiana and Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center. No one in Louisiana died, but coastal towns including Cameron and Holly Beach were wiped out or severely damaged. Recovery has been slow: all the roughly 400 homes in Holly Beach were washed away, and rebuilding still centers on removal of flooded cars, ruined buildings and other debris. Six residents have moved back, and are living in travel trailers, local officials said. Democratic Sen. Ed Murray, one of several New Orleans lawmakers who took the trip, said many southwestern Louisiana residents were facing the same sorts of rebuilding problems that his constituents face. However, Murray said there was one major difference: While many New Orleans homes sat full of floodwater for weeks, buildings in areas hit by Rita were reduced to rubble, forcing residents to rebuild from scratch. "In that way, this is a much more daunting task than what we face in New Orleans," Murray said. Courtesy Of: Yahoo! News The information reported above is property of Yahoo! inc. and reprinted or modified with legitimate permission. We thank Yahoo! inc. for the kind cooperation with us and other shareholders. |
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