Hurricane Gustav is a tropical depression once more but it is still a “very serious storm,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said today. “We're not quite at halftime,” he cautioned, noting the massive power outages, tornadoes, and heavy rains plaguing the state. “There is a lot, lot more work ahead of us.” Evacuees will have to wait to return home, USA Today reports.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin agreed, telling evacuees to stay evacuated. “Every system—sewer, water, drainage—is on backup power,” he said, but promised it would be “days, not weeks” before they could return. But in shelters, restlessness reigns, the AP reports. “People are desperate,” said one evacuee. “They don't know if they are going to have a place to go home to.” (More Hurricane Gustav stories.)