As Gustav evacuees return to New Orleans, a varied homecoming

As Gustav evacuees return home, and as those who stayed put survey the terrain, it's apparent how much a hurricane's unpredictability can cause varying degrees of damage.

For Francis "Big Mama" McShane, who had evacuated to Natchez, La., the homecoming to New Orleans in the wake of hurricane Gustav brought an unrivaled sense of relief.

On Wednesday afternoon, she turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door of the house she'd lived in for 22 years – the one that had been left under 12 feet of water after Katrina. She paused, peered in, and said, "Thank you, Jesus, thank you, God."

The house was dry and the electricity was on.

But 80 miles away in the town of Plaquemine, outside Baton Rouge, Stephanie Boudreaux woke up to what she called "total devastation." The area took the brunt of Gustav's winds.

"The winds, the tornadoes, there's never been anything like this here. Trees, poles are down, there are huge electrical wires twisted in the cane fields, and the hospital had its roof ripped off," said Ms. Boudreaux, standing at dawn Wednesday with a small crowd outside the local hardware store, hoping it would open. "Katrina was nothing compared to this."

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