A fearful New Orleans prepares for a potential Hurricane Gustav
The tropical storm is about five days away from possible landfall in Louisiana and is predicted to build to a Category 3 hurricane. Three years after Katrina, the mayor and other politicians are decisively preparing this time.
NEW ORLEANS — Fear and foreboding gripped this still-mending city Thursday as a potential Category 3 hurricane whirled toward the Gulf Coast on the eve of Hurricane Katrina's three-year anniversary.
Tropical Storm Gustav, which was lashing Jamaica after Haitian officials said it had killed 51 people there, was still almost five days away from the Crescent City, according to the National Hurricane Center. Projections varied greatly, putting its path anywhere from the Florida panhandle to southeastern Texas by Tuesday.
But Louisiana seemed the most likely place for Gustav to make landfall, and politicians here were acting decisively to prepare for the worst -- a sharp contrast from the response to Katrina, which was widely criticized as disorganized and sluggish. New Orleans avoided a direct hit from Katrina on Aug. 29, 2005, but flooding after it came ashore led to levee breaks that inundated four-fifths of the city, killing more than 1,500 people in Louisiana.
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin left the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday and announced that he would order a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans if a Category 3 storm got within 60 hours of his city. Meteorologists predict Gustav will swell into a Category 3 hurricane, defined as a storm with winds between 111 mph and 130 mph.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in my estimation I feel we are ready for this threat," Nagin said Thursday during a City Hall news conference. He added that he did not expect an evacuation until Saturday.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency, activated the National Guard and triggered a government contract that allowed him to bring up to 700 buses to the hurricane zone to help with evacuations. The rising GOP star also said he was prepared to skip next week's Republican National Convention, where he is scheduled to speak.
"We have to take this storm seriously," Jindal said during a news conference in the capital, Baton Rouge. He added that state and federal authorities would ensure no looting occurred following an evacuation. "We want people to know their property will be safe."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator R. David Paulison also traveled to Louisiana on Thursday to coordinate disaster response. Chertoff said during a news conference with Jindal that search-and-rescue teams and other emergency personnel were already mobilizing.
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