New Orleans a 'ghost town' for 9 months

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Dan Craig, the director of recovery at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told the diplomats that it could take up to six months to drain the flood waters out of New Orleans, and another three to allow the city to dry out. Even then, he added, debris and other hazardous material would need to be cleared away before rebuilding could begin. Evacuees could have to be housed by the government for two years. </p>

<p>Officials said that the job of recovering, let alone counting, the dead may not start for weeks. The death toll is likely to far exceed the numbers killed in the 11 September attacks almost exactly four years ago.

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