Bush gears up but too late for New Orleans

‘‘Many of our citizens are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans, and that is unacceptable,’’ said Bush, who plans to return to the stricken region on Monday.

Bush, who rarely concedes errors, spoke amid withering criticism of the federal response to the decimation of one of the world’s famous cities and the death of possible thousands. He hopes to counter the impression he was slow to grasp the enormity of the disaster as corpses piled up in the streets of New Orleans, violent gangs ran rampant and survivors went for days without food and medicine.

As a sign that the hurricane relief effort will dominate Bush’s schedule in coming weeks, a White House visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao set for Wednesday was postponed.

The Pentagon said it would send an additional 10,000 National Guard troops to Louisiana and Mississippi to assist in hurricane relief efforts in the coming days, bringing to 40,000 the number of such troops there.

The US Military also said it was repatriating about 300 Air Force personnel mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan whose home base area in Mississippi was hit by Katrina.

Bush also said he would send in 7,000 active duty troops in the next three days. However, US law bars regular military troops from being used in a domestic law enforcement role. Under special circumstances, the restriction can be waived, but so far no decision has been made.

A $10.5 billion relief package for Gulf Coast areas was signed on Saturday. Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana pressed Bush during his tour to name a Cabinet-level official to oversee the crisis. He said he would consider it.

In New Orleans, the US Army Corps of Engineers said it might take months to remove the floodwaters that swamp the city.

Corpses lay in the streets and, at the city Convention Centre, thousands of people were told overnight to get out as faeces and urine filled the corridors. There was still no medical care for evacuees, desperately waiting for a bus ride out of the city.

‘‘There is rape going on here. Women cannot go to the bathroom without men. They are raping them and slitting their throats. They keep telling us the buses are coming, but they never leave,’’ said 32-year-old Africa Brumfield.

The misery and destruction combined with widespread looting presented jarring images of death and despair in the world’s richest and most powerful country.

The tragedy has highlighted the vast race divide in the United States. Most of Katrina’s victims are poor and black, and were unable to evacuate the area as the storm raced in.

The political ramifications might have long shadows, with widespread suggestions that Washington would have moved much quicker if it were rich whites in danger.

‘‘We cannot allow it to be said by history that the difference between those who lived and those who died in this great storm and flood of 2005 was nothing more than poverty, age or skin color,’’ said Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat and former head of the Congressional Black Caucus.

‘‘Shame, shame on America. We were put to the test, and we have failed,’’ said Diane Watson, a black Democrat from California. —Reuters

Friend or foe, nations rush to help; India to send $5m

• India is to contribute $5 million to the US Red Cross and has also offered to send civilian and military personnel for aid if needed. India has also offered to provide water purification plants, medicines and Army medical units trained in dealing with water-borne diseases.

• The US State Department has received offers of help from around the world, with even tsunami-devastated Sri Lanka pledging $25,000. Apart from traditional allies, China has offered $5 million and was prepared to send medical experts. Long-term foe Cuban President Fidel Castro offered to fly 1,100 doctors to Houston with 26 tonnes of medicine; and, in a gesture rarely possible, North Korea’s Red Cross sent a message of sympathy.

ENS & Reuters