White House to double $$ targeted for New Orleans

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration agreed on Thursday to double what it would spend on flood protection for New Orleans, promising a system that it said would make the city safe from catastrophic flooding from a storm as powerful as Hurricane Katrina.

At a briefing at the White House, the coordinator of the federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Donald E. Powell, said the government would add $1.5 billion to the $1.6 billion already promised for the levees.

The protection, Powell said, would "be better and stronger" than ever and would encourage homeowners and businesses to return.

"I'm convinced that what we're doing here today, if there is another Katrina that hits New Orleans, that we would not see the catastrophic results that we saw during Katrina," he said.

He added that there could still be "manageable type" flooding.

The plan, to be completed within two years, fell far short of the protection against Category 5 hurricanes that Louisiana leaders have said is vital to rebuild New Orleans, which could cost more than $30 billion. Outside engineering experts said the plan might protect against storms of Hurricane Katrina's strength but not necessarily bigger ones.

Hurricane Katrina had been a Category 5 in the gulf but was at Category 4 at most when it landed southeast of New Orleans near Buras, La.

The administration commitment was welcomed as an important first step by elected officials from Louisiana, including Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans, who was at the White House, and Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who was here to push for billions in storm relief. The two officials said the announcement would provide a psychological comfort level to residents worried about the next storm.

"I want to say to all New Orleanians, to all businesses, 'It's time for you to come home,' " Nagin said. "We now have the commitment and the funding for hurricane protection at a level that we have never had before."

Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., said it was "just the first step of about 10 that we need to take."

Blanco called it a "down payment" and said the plan would upgrade the levees to a "true Category 3 level."