Gov. Rick Perry Sunday got a bird's eye view of the damage Hurricane Rita inflicted on Southeast Texas.

In an aerial tour of the region by National Guard helicopter, Perry saw flooded streets, a trailer home split in half by a fallen tree, a church stripped of its steeple and half of its roof.

He pointed to a private aircraft hangar at Beaumont's airport, where a roof lies half collapsed and half strewn around the surrounding field.

"It looks like a blender just went over the top of it,” he said.

Perry says it's heart wrenching to see Texans' homes and businesses so devastated.

But considering the dire forecasts of Rita and the total devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, he says Texas is lucky.

Only one death has been directly attributed to the hurricane so far, flooding is minimal and supplies are reaching those who need them.

Perry toured the affected region Sunday with state Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw and state Senator Tommy Williams, whose district includes several of the towns hardest hit by the storm.

In Port Arthur, where nearly every home and business has some damage, Perry saw an apartment complex that now sits totally roofless. He said he could peer into people's bedrooms.

Orange has taken a beating, too. Huge trees are atop houses and across streets. Major power lines that snapped in the storm are submerged in floodwaters.

But he says the region's petrochemical facilities appear to be in good shape. Some are partially flooded, but Williams says they're designed to handle that given their location along the coast.

Residents were returning to the coast Sunday, many ignoring the staggered schedule for returns released Saturday by the state.

STAGGERED RETURN SCHEDULE

Sunday: Residents may return to communities west of I-45 and north of I-10, including residents of Tomball, The Woodlands, Waller, Hockley, Katy, Brookshire and surrounding communities.

Monday: Residents may return to communities west of I-45 and south of I-10, including residents of Richmond, Stafford, Rosenberg, Sugarland, Pearland and surrounding communities, plus all Houston residents inside Loop I-610.

Tuesday: Residents may return to all remaining areas east of I-45 and north of I-10 up to the Liberty and Chamber county lines.

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