Obama: New Orleans Will Be Rebuilt

Five years after failed levees and a slow federal response wrought disaster here, people in this once-drowned city and across the Gulf Coast remembered the catastrophic floods of Hurricane Katrina with candlelight vigils, parades and a visit from the president.

President Obama, in town Sunday for the five-year remembrance, promised the government will help finish rebuilding New Orleans.

The rebuilding will bring the city improved schools, health care and housing, making it a better place than it was before Katrina, Obama told an invitation-only audience at Xavier University. He called the federal response to Katrina in 2005 a "shameful breakdown in government."

"Together, we are helping to make New Orleans a place that stands for what we can do in America -- not just for what we can't do," Obama said. "And ultimately, that must be the legacy of Katrina."

Obama also addressed the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis, triggered when a rig leased by energy company BP exploded off Louisiana's coast, unleashing the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. Eleven crewmembers were killed. Obama said his administration will continue to pressure BP to repay individuals and businesses hurt by the spill.

"We are going to stand with you until the oil is cleaned up, the environment is restored, polluters are held accountable, communities are made whole, and this region is back on its feet," Obama said.

Katrina roared ashore five years ago Aug. 29, killing 1,800 people across the Gulf Coast and causing more than $100 billion in damage. Many of New Orleans' flooded neighborhoods have recovered, and the city has returned to 78% of its pre-storm population. However, 100,000 New Orleanians remain displaced, and some areas, such as the Lower 9th Ward and New Orleans East, have not fully recovered.

The anniversary marked an opportunity for the city to show off areas it has rebuilt and spotlight the work yet to be done, said Timolynn Sams, executive director of the New Orleans Neighborhoods Partnership Network, a network of community groups.

"We should be focusing on what we learned in five years," she said.