New Orleans officials begin assessing hurricane damage

Houston: Officials began assessing hurricane damage to New Orleans on Tuesday as Gustav weakened to a Category 1 hurricane.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said residents could begin to return to the city later this week. Businesses will be allowed to open as soon as Wednesday.

"Re-entry is only days away and not weeks away," Nagin said after Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana and killed at least six people.

Some residents emerged from boarded up homes relieved to find only broken tree branches and toppled signs.

"We'll still get some nasty weather but we've dodged a big-time bullet with this one," said Peter Labouisse, a resident.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, however, warned residents it was too early to sound the all-clear. "This is not over. It's still hitting parts of the state very hard," he said.

Gustav, now a tropical storm spinning toward Texas, will continue to lose power over the next day, even as it dumps heavy rain parts of six states, the US National Hurricane Centre said.