Amnesty: US guilty of Katrina-related abuses

By CAIN BURDEAU Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Amnesty International says the U.S. government and Gulf Coast states have consistently violated the human rights of hurricane victims since Hurricane Katrina killed about 1,800 people and caused widespread devastation after striking in August 2005.

Amnesty's report entitled "Un-Natural Disaster" says government actions in housing, health care and policing prevented poor minority communities from rebuilding and returning to their homes.

The White House and Louisiana and Mississippi officials said they had gone to great lengths to help people recover from Katrina.

Amnesty urged Congress to amend the nation's main disaster response legislation, the Stafford Act, to guarantee the humane and fair treatment of all disaster victims.