The storm-ravaged city's levee system "will be better and stronger than it has ever been," Don Powell, the coordinator for reconstruction projects along the US Gulf Coast, told reporters at the White House.

With 1.6 billion dollars already committed to repairing New Orleans's levees and bridges, US President George W. Bush on Thursday requested an additional 1.5 billion dollars to reinforce them, close three canals and improve the pumping system in the low-lying city, Powell said.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said the new system would be capable of withstanding a hurricane as strong as Katrina, which slammed the city on August 29, busting its dykes and flooding it, killing more than 1,000 in New Orleans alone. Neighboring Mississippi was also badly hit by the storm.