Katrina victims are waiting for help in New Orleans on September 2. -Xinhua

The US government will seek congressional approval of over US$10 billion for immediate relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, congressional officials said Thursday.
The US Congress is expected to come back early from its summer recess, returning by Friday to start work on emergency legislation for victims of Hurricane Katrina, including the 10-billion-dollar installment.
US lawmakers are likely to approve the request by the weekend.
The 10-billion-dollar plan is aimed to cover immediate costs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the country's quick-response body for natural disasters.
At present, the FEMA is reportedly spending over US$500 million each day to the relief and rescue needs for hurricane- devastated areas in Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Aside from the 10-billion-dollar plan, at least two other bills will follow up, according to US Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran.
He said at current spending rates for relief needs, a second bill would be needed in two or three weeks, with another bill to come next after the damage is accurately estimated.
US President George W. Bush has described Hurricane Katrina as "one of the worst natural disasters" in the country's history, and it could also be the most expensive one in terms of total losses and relief funding.

US business sector, individuals offer donations for hurricane victims
The US business sector and individual Americans acted quickly to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, as private donations have already exceeded US$130 million, according to local news reports.
Members of the US Chamber of Commerce, mostly industrial and commercial organizations, have promised as much as US$100 million, and more pledges are coming in Thursday.
Millions of individual Americans responded to donation calls from large charity organizations, as the American Red Cross has already collected over US$21 million, mostly via telephones and websites.
The Salvation Army also took in US$several million in on- line and telephone donations.
Oil industry giant Chevron promised US$5 million and entertainment company Walt Disney 2.5 million, and ExxonMobil another 2 million.
Many other companies offered direct aid. Auto maker Nissan sent about 50 vehicles to the storm-stricken area for use by rescuers.
Beer brewery Anheuser-Busch shipped over 800,000 bottles of water and food producer Kelloggs is sending truckloads of biscuits.
Local media compared the outpour of support with that for the victims of last December's tsunami in Southeast Asia, which killed well over 200,000 people.