British Prime Minister Tony Blair has issued a formal apology to the British survivors of Hurricane Katrina who criticised the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for a disorganised response to the disaster, the Times Online has reported.

However, Blair offered compassion to those suffering, and added that Foreign Office staff had now arrived in New Orleans and were working extremely hard to trace all British survivors to bring them back to the UK.

The British premier recently arrived in Beijing for trade talks, but found time to offer a statement on the situation in Louisiana, USA. He said, “It’s been really tough for people, I know that, but it’s been tough for our officials on the ground.

“I’m really sorry if there has been difficulties about this but I can assure you some of these staff have been working round the clock and because it’s been a very difficult and confused situation it’s been difficult for them, the staff, as well as the people for whom this has been a catastrophe.”

A Foreign minister, Lord Triesman had said that British officials had been hampered in their attempts to reach New Orleans by US authorities who denied them access to the city.

Triesman told BBC Radio 4, “We asked every day, we have asked every day for permission to go into the city. Sadly, we have not got that permission. We didn't feel that we could simply take the law into our own hands.”

Meanwhile Sunday has also been a day where those who have had their lives devastated by the hurricane were able to find comfort in God. It was reported that huge numbers gathered in religious services on Sunday 4th September; many giving thanks for their survival and others praying desperately for their loved ones that had still not returned home.

Tears were seen by hundreds across churches in the region as families embraced each other in a solemn and shocked atmosphere.

The Anglican Communion Network has released a message to all its congregations. It states that it is focusing its support on parishes on the front line providing care to the victims. The release said, “Dozens of parishes and thousands of people need our help.

“Both the Network and the American Anglican Council are working with their respective contacts in dioceses across the Gulf Coast. While their efforts are complementary and they will work in tandem, they will distribute relief funds separately.”

Amazing stories among the church communities in the affected areas have emerged. A story from one church where the priest, unable to enter his ravaged building, simply took a board from a pile of debris, set it across the arms of a chair and draped a silk cloth across it to make an altar to hold the Sunday Service.

Father Baras told, “A sense of hope, that's all we have to give each other right now. Some of us don't have homes; some of us don't have water, electricity or food. But all of us have a sense of God inside us to help us keep hope alive.”

In Pascagoula, Miss., at a First Baptist Church approximately 80 worshippers yelled out at the top of their voices, “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing”; they stood united in the church whose steeple had crashed to the ground in Katrina's powerful winds.

In another dim church with a badly leaking roof and no lights, Pastor Rex Yancy gave a message being echoed across churches throughout the Southern region: “We have been hit hard — everybody has been hit hard — but we are going to make it. We are going to survive.”

As the water poured down through the leaking roof he testified his thankful heart, “Thank you Jesus!”

His cry was met with cries of “Amen!” and families and friends embraced each other tightly amidst the despairing situation.

The first wave of Britons that were stranded in New Orleans returned back in the UK late on Sunday evening, and some were saying they felt let down by British officials in the disaster zone.

Mr Friend, 21 from Exeter told of his disappointment towards the British Foreign Office, “I have never known a more useless bunch of people in my life. The press managed to gain access to the Superdome but they couldn’t.”

Another survivor, Neil Coppey, 35, from Horsham told Times Online of his dismay at the responses given to him: "I’ve tried calling Washington but they keep saying we have to contact the consulate in New Orleans, which everyone must realise doesn’t exist anymore."

The government has announced that officially around 130 Britons are still unaccounted for in the region struck by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, however they attempted to ease worried relatives by saying that many are expected to be safe or to have returned home.

Watching the reports and scenes that have emerged in the aftermath of the hurricane, famous evangelist Rev Billy Graham told how what he has seen has been “almost frightening”.

Graham offered his prayers for the hundreds of thousands that have become refugees, saying, “I pray especially for the hundreds of thousands who have become refugees because of what has happened. The flood of refugees may be one of the greatest challenges our society has ever faced. It is clear that it will take years for thousands of lives to return to normal.”

He continued, “Scores of organisations and thousands of churches and individuals are involved in opening their arms of love and compassion to these refugees. It may be the greatest opportunity to demonstrate God's love in this generation.”

Offering his comments on why such a catastrophe can happen: “Whenever any disaster like this strikes, we often ask ourselves why. Why did God let this happen? I have been asked that question hundreds of times, and I have to confess that I do not know the full answer. I can recall walking through the aftermath of hurricanes in Florida and South Carolina, and a typhoon in India that killed tens of thousands, and earthquakes in California and Guatemala, and every time I have asked ‘Why?’

“Job in the Bible asked the same question thousands of years ago, and his only answer was that God's ways are often beyond our understanding, and yet He is sovereign and He can still be trusted. The Bible says evil is a mystery. Someday we will understand, but not now.”

As he concluded his comments he revealed the compassion and love of God saying, “I do know this, however: God knows what we are going through, and He still loves us and cares about us. In the midst of suffering and tragedy we can turn to Him for the comfort and help we need. Times like this will make us react in one of two ways: Either we will become bitter and angry – or we will realise our need of God and turn to Him in faith and trust, even if we don't understand.

“The Bible says, ‘He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds’ (Psalm 147:3). The Bible also promises, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. ...Since you are precious and honoured in my sight, and because I love you’ (Isaiah 43:2,4). May this tragedy make each of us realise our need of God, and may we turn to Christ in repentance and faith and find our hope in Him.