Hurricane hit property owners in US assessing damage with more on the way

Property owners along the Gulf Coast in the US are assessing the damage caused by hurricane Gustav as agencies predict high levels of damage.

Early assessment from insurance companies is that Gustav could be the fourth costliest storm on record and that many property owners have insufficient cover.

Insurance claims of $10 billion are predicted but the cost of repairs will be much higher as property owners either don't have enough insurance or none at all.

Following the costly toll of Hurricane Katrina, three years ago home insurance rates along the Gulf Coast doubled and many homeowners couldn't afford the new premiums. Owners of holiday homes often don't have enough cover.

Although life was spared and Gustav was kind to New Orleans where the new levees and floodgates held, the city has suffered considerable property damage.

Gustav wreaked havoc on homes, causing extensive damage to roofs, doors, and windows, the National Hurricane Center said. Property owners evacuated from New Orleans should be allowed back on Thursday once power has been restored.

While the hurricane delivered only a glancing blow to New Orleans, the rest of Louisiana was hard hit. Gustav devastated parts of Cajun country, destroying roofs and entire homes, and flooding parts of the mostly rural, low-lying parishes across the state's southeastern and central coast.

As the tail end of the storm moved inland Mississippi also suffered with Hancock County taking the brunt of the storm's wrath causing flooding and extensive damages to roofs.

President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana and Mississippi and there is more bad news on the way for the US. Hurricane Hanna has developed near the Bahamas and Storm Ike, now between the Caribbean and Africa, could also become a hurricane within two days, according to experts.