Building after building under water. (36)
in shelters. Thousands of others unsure where to go. (37)
for help. Anarchy. Bodies in streets. This is what one of America’s
historic cities was (38) to this week by a powerful storm,
Katrina. Officials want everyone still left in New Orleans,
Louisiana, to leave for now. The (39) of New Orleans says
thousands may be dead. (40) Katrina also caused death and
(41) in parts of Mississippi and Alabama along the Gulf of
Mexico. Federal officials reported Friday that more than one million five
hundred thousand homes and businesses (42) without electric
power. New Orleans is famous for its wild Mardi Gras
(43) and night life in the French Quarter. (44)
. New Orleans has depended on levees, dams made of earth, to control
floods from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.
Katrina struck on Monday. New Orleans avoided a direct hit. But two of the
levees failed the next day. Most of the city was flooded. Helicopters dropped
huge sandbags to fill the breaks. (45) .
America faces one of the worst natural events in its history. President
Bush says the recovery will take years. (46) The Bush
administration is expected to ask for more in the weeks to come.