New Orleans Residents Flee as Gustav Closes In

New Orleans Residents Flee as Gustav Closes In
Mayor Nagin Orders a Curfew Following Evacuation; Hurricane On Track to Hit Gulf Coast Monday

By Dana Hedgpeth and Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, August 31, 2008; 12:18 PM

        NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 31 -- Mayor Ray Nagin Sunday ordered a curfew for New Orleans that was to go into effect at sunset as the Gulf Coast awaited Hurricane Gustav, a deadly tropical storm packing winds of more than 120 mph that appeared to be on track to slam into the coast Monday.

        Nagin, who has ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city, said that efforts were going smoothly and more than 14,000 people have been moved out of the city by bus or train. Those buses will cease operation this afternoon. He warned that looting will not be tolerated in the wake of the storm and anyone caught stealing would be sent immediately to the state penitentiary in Angola.

        Thousands of residents of New Orleans and other coastal communities moved inland Sunday to escape Gustav.

        The White House, citing the need to prepare for the hurricane, announced that President Bush and Vice President Cheney would not go to the Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

        By late-morning Sunday, the storm was located about 325 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and was moving northwest through the central Gulf of Mexico at about 17 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Although the storm weakened a bit overnight, it is predicted to regain strength Sunday and could again become a Category Four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale before its expected landfall on Monday.

        The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning from Cameron, La., to the Alabama-Florida border, including New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.

        Local TV news stations reported Sunday that highways leading out of New Orleans were packed but no major problems were reported. Television images of Interstate 10 near Houston showed bumper to bumper traffic. Authorities also are advising people not to head east on I-10 toward Florida, Alabama or Mississippi because of 20-mile backups Saturday around Mobile, Ala., where officials there said they weren't prepared for the onslaught of people fleeing the storm.

        Federal and local relief officials began preparations for the storm last week, and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was expected to fly to Louisiana again Sunday. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are scheduled to make a stop in Jackson, Miss., Sunday to be briefed on the preparations for the storm, which threatened to overshadow the Republican Party convention that begins Monday.

        Nagin Saturday night ordered a mandatory evacuation of this city. "This is the real deal, not a test," Nagin said as he issued the order, effective 9 a.m. Eastern time Sunday for low-lying areas and 1 p.m. citywide. He warned residents that staying would be "one of the biggest mistakes of your life."

        Sunday morning, Jefferson County Parish -- with more than 431,000 people living on low-lying land south and west of Orleans -- called for a mandatory evacuation for the first time in its history. Along with widespread flooding, forecasters are also predicting the possibility of tornadoes as Gustav pushes in.

        "We don't have homes that were built to withstand this kind of system," said parish president Aaron Broussard.

        Forecasters warned that it was still too soon to say whether New Orleans would take a direct hit from Gustav late Monday, but the storm's threat, coming three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated a broad swath of the Gulf Coast, drew a hefty amount of wary respect from city, state and federal officials.