Katrina Smashed US Gulf Coast

Hurricane Katrina of the strongest Category 5 has fallen on the US coast of the Gulf of Mexico earlier Monday with 233-kph winds and heavy rain, submerging up to the rooflines in New Orleans, Louisiana, hurling boats onto land and sending water pouring into Mississippi's strip of beachfront casinos. It tore part of the roof of a stadium where many had sought refuge.

The storm has done extreme damage in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, where it swept ashore after moving across the Gulf of Mexico.

Correspondents in New Orleans say walls of water have been running down the skyscrapers like waterfalls.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that federal funds will be used for response and recovery efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi.

We remind you, that the last category five hurricane to hit America was Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which cost insurers' $21bn - the worse storm damage in history.