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Katrina: Obama Says New Orleans Inspired America

President Barack Obama has praised the spirit of New Orleans' residents 10 years after their city was decimated by Hurricane Katrina.

Mr Obama arrived in Louisiana on Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of the devastating storm that killed more than 1,800 people along the Gulf Coast.

Walking door to door in the neighbourhood of Treme, the President shook hands and chatted with residents.

"We appreciate you," he told them as he was greeted by cheers.

Treme - one of the oldest black neighbourhoods in America - suffered catastrophic flooding after the city's levees gave way in the midst of the powerful 2005 storm.

On Thursday, Mr Obama said New Orleans serves as an example of what can be accomplished by people coming together after tragedy.

Surveying the rebuilt neighbourhood, he said: "The fact that we can make this many strides 10 years after a terrible epic disaster, I think, is an indication of the kind of spirit we have in this city."

The President later delivered an address at a newly opened community centre in the Lower 9th Ward - one of the hardest-hit areas of the city, and one that is still struggling to recover.

"Not long ago, our gathering here in the Lower 9th might have seemed unlikely," he said.

"But today, this new community centre stands as a symbol of the extraordinary resilience of this city and its people, of the entire Gulf Coast, indeed, of the United States of America."

"You are an example of what's possible when, in the face of tragedy and hardship, good people come together to lend a hand, and to build a better future."

He added: "There's something in you guys that is just irrepressible.

"The people of New Orleans didn't just inspire me, you inspired all of America."

He also said Katrina exposed structural inequalities that long plagued New Orleans, particularly minorities.

The President appeared energised by his visits, at one point stopping for fried chicken at the famous Willie Mae's Scotch House. He pronounced the resulting grease stain on his suit a good indication that he had enjoyed his stay in the city.

Mr Obama was a fresh-faced US Senator when Katrina made landfall on 29 August 2005, wreaking havoc from Florida and Texas.

New Orleans became the focal point of the storm as images emerged of residents clinging to roof tops as flood waters covered 80% of the city and hundreds of thousands were displaced.

Katrina also became a byword for government failure, and questions remain to this day over the nation's response to the disaster.