Bush: New Orleans' levees will be ready

NEW ORLEANS, March 8 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush tried to reassure New Orleans Wednesday it would be protected before the next big hurricane.

"I just got a briefing from the Army Corps of Engineers that said we're on schedule to repair the (Hurricane Katrina) damage by the June 1st deadline," Bush said in New Orleans. "They're identifying and correcting design and construction deficiencies so, as we go into the start of the hurricane season, the levees will be equal or better than what they were before Katrina."

He said the system will be "better and stronger than before."

It was the president's 10th visit to the region since the Gulf Coast was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and evangelist Franklin Graham greeted the president and first lady Laura Bush as they arrived.

Bush was briefed on recovery efforts and was to tour neighborhoods and part of the levee system that inundated New Orleans when it gave way in the wake of the August hurricane.

Bush is reminded of the ongoing pain people suffer every time he visits the devastated city, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Bush also planned to tour damaged areas of Mississippi.