Bush: Response better than during Katrina

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Governmental response to Hurricane Gustav is better than during Hurricane Katrina because of the Gulf states' governors, U.S. President George Bush said Monday.

"There was clearly a spirit of sharing assets, of listening to somebody's problems and saying, how can we best address them?" Bush said of the governors of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi during a briefing at the Texas Emergency Operations Center in Austin. "The federal government is very much involved in helping the states. Our job is to assist."

Bush thanked states for "welcoming citizens from Louisiana. It's been a huge evacuation. It's hard for a citizen to pull up stakes and move out of their home and face the uncertainty that comes when you're not at home."

He also thanked the Louisianans "who listened carefully to the local authorities and evacuated."

It is still important for those who evacuated to listen to their state officials before deciding to return.

"This storm is yet to pass," Bush said. "It's a serious event."