United States President George Bush made a quick visit to Louisiana on Wednesday to survey damage from Hurricane Gustav.
New Orleans officials lifted roadblocks to allow tens of thousands who fled the city to return despite widespread power outages.
Mr Bush, widely criticized for a slow response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said government "was much better coordinated this time than we were with Katrina," which killed 1,500 people and caused $US80 billion in damages.
But after a briefing by emergency service providers in the state capital of Baton Rouge, Bush said much work was left to be done, most importantly restoring power to 1.1 million homes and business.
He did not visit New Orleans, which escaped the brunt of the storm and saw its vulnerable levees hold, and said the thrust of relief efforts targeted hard-hit rural areas.
Nearly 2 million people fled the Louisiana coast, including some 95% of New Orleans' residents - an unprecedented exodus credited with saving lives.
New Orleans officials lifted police roadblocks to allow residents to return, and cars and trucks packed with families, bedding, and family pets streamed back into the city.
