Former US President George W. Bush was ridiculed online and in person on Friday, as he returned to New Orleans to mark a decade since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.

In August 2005, the super storm left around 80 percent of the city flooded and tens of thousands of people stranded for days without food, water or shelter.

Occurring five years into his presidency, Bush was vilified for his administration's response to one of the worst hurricanes in US history, which killed more than 1,200 people and displaced around a million more in the central Gulf coast region.

Mismanaged crisis

Many historians agree that the government's response was bungled at the national and local level, and that the tragedy marked perhaps the lowest point in his presidency.

As Bush arrived in Louisiana on Friday, one protester held up a placard in reference to his previous tardiness.

He and his wife Laura toured one of the city's oldest public schools rebuilt with funds from a library foundation, which is run by Mrs. Bush.

Bush promised students that people would "never forget the images of our fellow Americans amid a sea of misery and ruin."

He left without mentioning the government's handling of the crisis at the time. The couple then traveled to Gulfport, Mississippi, to attend an event thanking first responders.

Long memories

Outside the school, a handful of protesters chanted, “You let New Orleans drown!” A sign they were carrying read: “George Bush still hates black people,” in reference to similar words uttered by rapper Kanye West during a benefit concert broadcast live on television shortly after the disaster.

Bush's visit was also widely criticized on social media. One Twitter post, re-tweeted more than 700 times said, “It is the shamelessness of deep privilege that allows George W. Bush to return to New Orleans to discuss Katrina this weekend.”

Another post said Bush's visit "has the disturbing feel of the criminal who feels magnetized towards their own crime scene."

In a separate visit on Thursday, current US President Barack Obama hailed the “extraordinary resilience” of New Orleans and its people since Katrina struck.

Acknowledging that the disaster had highlighted long standing inequality between rich and poor, Obama said the progress had been “remarkable” and that the city was “moving in the right direction.”

A huge reconstruction effort has seen new storm protection levees installed and new neighborhoods built. The city is attracting new businesses and most of its residents have returned. However, many residents complained that the city still had a long way to go despite an 89 billion euro ($100 billion) reconstruction effort.

mm/lw (AP, dpa)