Hurricane city to be abandoned
From Tim Reid in Washington
New Orleans mayor fears thousands may have perished

NEW ORLEANS is to be abandoned as flood waters pour in through huge breaches in the city’s defences. The Governor of Louisiana gave the order as the mayor said that thousands may have died.

“Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands,” said Ray Nagin, the Mayor, when asked about the death toll. “There are dead bodies floating in the water. The rescuers were basically pushing them aside as they rescued people.”

The governor’s order has few precedents in modern history, but officials said that the city of 500,000 faced catastrophic destruction and could be rendered uninhabitable for months. President Bush said that it could take years to recover from the flooding.

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