Those returning after Gustav should bring supplies

0 Comments | USA TODAY, September, 2008 | by John Fritze and Rick Jervis

NEW ORLEANS -- Hundreds of thousands of evacuees waiting Tuesday to return home to southern Louisiana may find power out and food in short supply in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

"If you do come back, bring a car full of groceries," said David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "What you don't want is to come back to your home and then be a burden on your community."

Louisiana evacuated 1.9 million people ahead of Gustav's arrival Monday morning. About 84,500 of those people were in shelters in eight states, according to the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

Buses, trains and aircraft stood by to carry residents back to New Orleans, Paulison said. The Louis Armstrong New Orleans...