Half the city back in 2008

[Anita Garcia]

A full three years after Hurricane Katrina scattered New Orleanians across the country, residents will have returned to areas that had little or no flooding, but less than half will have made it back to neighborhoods that took on 2 feet of water or more, a think tank hired by Mayor Ray Nagin's rebuilding commission estimates.

<http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1142406517194440.xml>
...The citywide estimates stand in contrast to much more optimistic projections by Nagin, who has repeatedly said New Orleans will hit the 300,000 mark by the end of this year. Nagin said he stands by his projections.

RAND was charged by Nagin's commission to estimate the city's population at four specific points: three months, six months, one year and three years after the storm. The researchers estimate New Orleans' current population at about 155,000, and they forecast a rise to about 198,000 by September.