Bush pledge on Katrina failures

US President Bush has again promised that the government will learn from mistakes made during Hurricane Katrina.

More than 1,000 people were killed when the hurricane struck the Gulf Coast of the US almost a year ago.
In his weekly radio address the president said the disaster has exposed deep-seated poverty and a lack of readiness to deal with the crisis.
He said disaster response would improve and committed $110bn to rebuilding New Orleans and other affected areas.
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of one of the most costly natural disasters in American history.
The storm devastated an 80-mile (128km) stretch of coast and flooded the majority of New Orleans.

System failed
Fewer than 200,000 of the original half-million inhabitants have returned to their ruined homes.
The president said Americans responded with "heroism and compassion" during the crisis but acknowledged that the response of the emergency system had failed. FULL STORY