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New Orleans residents invited to return
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-30 20:00

Mayor Ray Nagin invited residents of some of the city's most popular neighborhoods to return at their own risk beginning Friday, a move that could bring back about one-third of New Orleans' half-million inhabitants, AP reported.


German THW workers Ulf Langemeier, left, and Florian Weber look at pump station number 5 on the east side of the Industrial Canal in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005. The pump built in 1930 was flooded out by Katrina and the team has been working to pump the station dry to see if it can be repaired. [AP]

The newly opened areas, including the French Quarter and Garden District, all escaped major flooding in a city that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina a month ago before receiving a second blow from Hurricane Rita last week.

Business owners began showing up Thursday, some saying they were pulling out and others vowing to rebuild.

"We are lucky. I was expecting much worse than this," said Germame Kassa, whose Ethiopian grocery and deli was relatively unscathed, although the stink of rotting food wafted through the locked doors. "One way or the other, we'll be back in business."

The mayor was pushing aggressively to reopen the city despite concerns raised by state and federal officials. Serious health hazards remain because of bacteria-laden floodwaters, a lack of drinkable water and a sewage system that still does not work, said Stephen L. Johnson, chief of the Environmental Protection Agency.

"There are a whole lot of factors that need to be weighing on the mayor's mind," Johnson said. He said the EPA was not taking a position on Nagin's plan, but he refused to answer when asked if he would allow his own family to return to New Orleans.
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