Thousands of New Orleans residents who fled Hurricane Katrina returned for the first time to see what was left of their homes today and president George W. Bush went back to the disaster zone as he fought to quell a political crisis over bungled aid efforts.
Mr Bush landed in the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge today and was to tour relief efforts there and in Mississippi in his second trip to the ravaged region in less than a week.
President Bush with Louisiana governer Kathleen Blanco, left, talks with victims of Hurricane Katrina at the Bethany World Prayer Center that is now a make shift shelter
"We've got a lot of work to do," said Mr Bush, addressing dozens of Katrina victims being taken care at a prayer centre in Baton Rouge.
Mr Bush has been under fire from Democrats and Republicans alike for a sluggish federal response to a flood which has made hundreds of thousands homeless and is feared to have killed several thousands along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast.
The outcry has triggered a major political crisis for Mr Bush, already suffering from the lowest public approval ratings of his presidency, largely because of the war in Iraq.
At the relief centre, some of the victims were still sleeping, wrapped up in quilts, lying on mattresses on the floor, when Mr Bush and his wife Laura arrived.
The crowd quickly grew around him when the survivors realised the president had come to see them. He said he was returning to the region to "let the good people of this region know there's a lot of work to be done." "We can help save lives once a person finds a shelter such as this," he said. "The response of this country has been amazing."
He said the country would "do what it takes" to help people get back on their feet.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune, in an open letter, called upon president Mr Bush to fire every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "We're angry, Mr President," the newspaper said.
At an event in Houston, Mr Bush's father, former president George H.W. Bush said he did not like to see his son under fire for his handling of the disaster, but it was part of the job.
"The president can take it," he said. "It goes with the territory."
An Army National Guard air crew member assigned to the 'Cajun Dustoffs,' looks out at the flooded streets of New Orleans
The search for storm victims went on as rescuers in boats, helicopters and military vehicles went house to house looking for people still stranded a week after Katrina blew through the area, causing massive flooding and destruction.
A week after the hurricane, hit the death toll remains unknown but thousands are believed dead in the catastrophic storm and many of those were not hard to find. Their bloated bodies floated in the still-flooded streets, and police advised passers-by not to get too close.
In the first official count in the New Orleans area, Louisiana emergency medical director Louis Cataldie said authorities had verified 59 deaths - 10 of them at the Superdome. "We need to prepare the country for what's coming," he said.
In suburban Jefferson Parish, stunned residents got their first glimpse of the damage wrought by Katrina when it struck Louisiana with 140 mile per hour winds and a massive storm surge.
They were greeted by a panorama of toppled trees and street signs, and spacious middle-class homes that had been flooded with several feet of water. Gabriel Whitfield (36) wept as he looked over his home, now caked in mold and mud, the furniture and floor destroyed.
Gabriel Whitfield hugs his sister-in-law Ariel Pietrello at their home in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. Residents were allowed back to their homes for the first time today
In the backyard, a large tree his children had played in lay splintered by the storm. "It's just like somebody punched me in the gut," he said through tears. "It's hard to see something you worked so hard to accomplish just wiped out."
His sister-in-law, Ariel Pietrello (28) also cried as she walked through the debris-strewn home.
"It's going to be really hard to tell a 10- and a 14-year-old that all their stuff is gone and it's never going to be the same again for them," she said, referring to Whitfield's children.
"They have just lost everything. It sucks," she said.
Others said the damage could have been worse. They said their homes were mostly intact and salvageable.
"I'm extremely happy. My family is safe and we have something to come back to. Now I want to be a part of the rebuilding of New Orleans," said Eric Pullen, who arrived with his wife and newborn baby.
Many of those going back brought guns or friends or both for protection in case they encountered looters.
The Jefferson Parish government urged its residents not to stay in their homes, but to gather items they needed and leave by nightfall because power and water had not been restored.
The official death toll in Louisiana stood at 59, but the state government said that was just the current known dead and the number would grow, perhaps to the thousands.
Well over 100 deaths have been confirmed in neighbouring Mississippi. While many of the dead were out in the open, officials said most were likely buried under piles of rubble or hidden in attics where they took refuge from rising waters.
In addition to the lawlessness, civilian deaths and uncertainty about their families, New Orleans police have had to deal with suicides in their ranks.
Two officers took their lives, including the department spokesman, who died Saturday, according to the deputy police chief. Both shot themselves in the head, he said.
Police and military troops were regaining control of the city after days of murder, rape and looting that horrified America and the world.
On Sunday, police shot and killed at least four people in a shootout on a bridge in eastern New Orleans. News reports said beleaguered police cheered when told of the shootout.
Lights were also going on in some neighbourhoods of the stricken city as the local power company began restoring electricity.
The much-loved Southern city, which lies below sea level, fell into chaos after being swamped by floodwaters when protective levees burst a day after Katrina struck. The US Army Corps of Engineers said it was making progress in repairing the levees and could begin pumping water out of New Orleans on Monday. Still, draining the entire city could take 80 days or more, the Corps said.
US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned on Sunday that the search for bodies in the receding waters was "going to be about as ugly a scene a you can imagine."
Temporary morgues were being set up around the region to store the bodies. At least 240,000 refugees had flooded into neighbouring Texas, where governer Rick Perry said the state could handle no more and requested that those still pouring in be airlifted to other states.
"There are shelters set up in other states that are sitting empty while thousands arrive in Texas by the day, if not the hour," he said.
Not all New Orleans residents wanted out."They'll have to drag me out by my feet," said Mike Reed, 49, as he swept debris from the streets of the city's historic French Quarter, which experienced light flooding compared with other neighbourhoods.
At least two French Quarter bars - Molly's and Johnny White's - have been serving customers in the week since the storm. "That's our job. That's just what we do," said Molly's owner, Jim Monaghan.