New Orleans residents told to come home

The city remains dark with power still being restored and other basic services are still non-functional. Hospitals have been running with skeleton crews and the sewage system was damaged when Hurricane Gustav battered the Louisiana on Monday and Tuesday.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said the 95 percent of residents, who fled the city in fear of another Hurricane Katrina, could return after the mandatory evacuation order is lifted at midnight on Wednesday.

The deserted city escaped the full blast of the storm and Nagin stated, "The message is: We want you to come into the city, check on your property, make sure that you are comfortable and make an intelligent decision on whether you want to stay in this environment or not."

When Katrina charged into the city almost exactly three years ago, nearly 1,500 people lost their lives and 80 billion dollars of damage was incurred. This time around, the city was better prepared but Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said utilities and regulators could take up to six weeks to restore.

Louisiana has counted six storm-related deaths so far and the hurricane claimed the lives of nearly 100 people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.