President Barack Obama arrived in still-struggling New Orleans on Sunday to join residents marking five years since flood waters driven by Hurricane Katrina inundated the famous jazz capital. Obama flew straight from his beach vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts to the storied city, which was plunged into chaos on August 29, 2005 when water driven by Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed its levees. Although 1.4 million residents and visitors were ordered to evacuate as the monster storm approached, many could not or would not and were left stranded. More than 1,500 died. "It's recovering, but there's some more work to do," said White House spokesman Bill Burton of the city, whose population is only 80 percent what it was before the Category 5 storm. During his visit to mark the anniversary, Obama "will commemorate the lives lost and the shared sacrifice that the Gulf Coast experienced because of Katrina," the White House said. The president will also pledge to "recommit the nation" to a region that more recently has struggled with the worst accidental oil spill in history.
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