GET US-WEATHER-KATRINA

Cuong Pham (L) and Bich Tran (R) who are PhD students at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana bail water from their basement apartment in the Garden District of New Orleans 29 August 2005, after Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana. Hurricane Katrina pounded a swath of the US Gulf coast with rare fury, causing widespread damage in New Orleans but failing to deliver a feared catastrophic blow to the low-lying port city. AFP PHOTO/James NIELSEN (Photo credit should read JAMES NIELSEN/AFP/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 53464591