08-30-2008, 02:21 PM
BELLE CHASE, Louisiana (CNN) -- As Hurricane Gustav's winds reached up to 145 mph on its predicted path to the U.S. Gulf Coast -- ravaged in 2005 by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- residents headed inland in droves.
New Orleans residents leave Friday via Interstate 10 heading west, as they flee Hurricane Gustav.
1 of 2 more photos û "This makes Gustav an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale," the National Hurricane Center said.
"I'm not sure where I'm going," Margie Hawkins of New Orleans told CNN as she stood outside Union Passenger Terminal, where people were waiting to be transported out of New Orleans.
However, she was not fazed.
"I am confident and positive that the city will arrange a good place," she said, her small dog Bubbles yipping at her feet. Unlike the runup to Katrina, officials are allowing people to take their pets with them.
"My last 24 hours have been somewhat worrisome and very, very prayerful, because this is a very serious threat, and it's a lot of people to get to safe ground or be safe where they are," Hawkins said.
Gustav had intensified to a Category 4 hurricane as it neared the western tip of Cuba.
President Bush called the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas on Saturday, promising them full federal support.
The hurricane will pass over western Cuba later in the day, move into the southern Gulf of Mexico early Sunday, and into the central Gulf by early Monday, according to forecasters. Gustav could make landfall as a Category 3 or 4 on the U.S. Gulf Coast late Monday or Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm called up uneasy memories Friday of the deadly 2005 hurricane season -- particularly of Katrina -- as Gulf Coast residents found themselves preparing for Gustav on the third anniversary of that devastating storm, August 29.
Anxiety was high as residents and officials were determined not to be caught off-guard again.
"I'm very worried that the city is going to get hit again and I don't want to be here when that happens," New Orleanian Sara Suggs told CNN. Residents, at least initially, praised the efforts of the government.
"I think it's great that they are on top of the game early this time," Fred Boyd of New Orleans said. "I think a lot more people will be satisfied this time than last time."
In New Orleans, which is still recovering from Katrina, Mayor C. Ray Nagin urged residents who need assistance leaving to register with the city's assisted evacuation plan.
When Katrina hit, more than 1,800 people died in five states -- 1,577 of them in Louisiana.
The city estimated that those needing assistance would number about 30,000.
Unlike the situation during Katrina, there will be no "shelter of last resort," the city said. In 2005, the city's Louisiana Superdome housed thousands of New Orleanians who couldn't, or didn't, heed the mandatory evacuation order. Watch FEMA administrator talk about being proactive û
The arena -- which grew dark, hot and increasingly fetid after the electricity failed and the plumbing was overwhelmed in the storm -- became a symbol of the disaster and the much-maligned government response to it.
New Orleans has designated 17 locations for people without transportation to board buses to take them to the Union terminal, where they will be transported to shelters outside New Orleans.
However, instead of waiting at one of the stops, scores of residents went directly to the terminal, leading to some initial confusion.
"We're just being flexible," said Jerry Sneed, of City Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, explaining that the sheriff's office had ushered the people into lines outside the terminal.
"It's frustrating to see that they don't listen, but it's good seeing that they are coming."
In addition, the city arranged with Amtrak for more than 7,000 seats to evacuate the elderly by train.
The city's airport is scheduled to close Sunday at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET), a spokesman there said.
As the storm began to track westward, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Friday there is "a little bit less certainty than there was yesterday" of a direct hit to New Orleans or other populated areas in the state. But he urged Louisianans to be prepared for the very real possibility of another strike.
More than a dozen parishes have declared states of emergency, he said, adding that several coastal parishes began voluntary evacuations Friday and would continue mandatory evacuations Saturday.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour announced Friday that Hurricane Katrina victims living in government-issued trailers or mobile homes along his state's coast would begin evacuating Saturday.
Notice was being given to people living in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers or mobile homes, as well as people living in more permanent structures known as "Mississippi cottages," he said.
About 4,300 families live in FEMA trailers or mobile homes, while some 2,800 live in Mississippi cottages, the governor's office said.
Earlier in the week, at least 51 people were killed in southwestern Haiti and eight were killed in neighboring Dominican Republic as Gustav roared through as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, officials there said. Four people in Jamaica were killed.
Hurricanes are ranked 1-5 in intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale. A Category 3 hurricane has sustained winds from 111 to 130 mph and is capable of causing extensive damage. A Category 4 has winds of 131 to 155 mph and can cause extreme damage.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/08/30...index.html
New Orleans residents leave Friday via Interstate 10 heading west, as they flee Hurricane Gustav.
1 of 2 more photos û "This makes Gustav an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale," the National Hurricane Center said.
"I'm not sure where I'm going," Margie Hawkins of New Orleans told CNN as she stood outside Union Passenger Terminal, where people were waiting to be transported out of New Orleans.
However, she was not fazed.
"I am confident and positive that the city will arrange a good place," she said, her small dog Bubbles yipping at her feet. Unlike the runup to Katrina, officials are allowing people to take their pets with them.
"My last 24 hours have been somewhat worrisome and very, very prayerful, because this is a very serious threat, and it's a lot of people to get to safe ground or be safe where they are," Hawkins said.
Gustav had intensified to a Category 4 hurricane as it neared the western tip of Cuba.
President Bush called the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas on Saturday, promising them full federal support.
The hurricane will pass over western Cuba later in the day, move into the southern Gulf of Mexico early Sunday, and into the central Gulf by early Monday, according to forecasters. Gustav could make landfall as a Category 3 or 4 on the U.S. Gulf Coast late Monday or Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm called up uneasy memories Friday of the deadly 2005 hurricane season -- particularly of Katrina -- as Gulf Coast residents found themselves preparing for Gustav on the third anniversary of that devastating storm, August 29.
Anxiety was high as residents and officials were determined not to be caught off-guard again.
"I'm very worried that the city is going to get hit again and I don't want to be here when that happens," New Orleanian Sara Suggs told CNN. Residents, at least initially, praised the efforts of the government.
"I think it's great that they are on top of the game early this time," Fred Boyd of New Orleans said. "I think a lot more people will be satisfied this time than last time."
In New Orleans, which is still recovering from Katrina, Mayor C. Ray Nagin urged residents who need assistance leaving to register with the city's assisted evacuation plan.
When Katrina hit, more than 1,800 people died in five states -- 1,577 of them in Louisiana.
The city estimated that those needing assistance would number about 30,000.
Unlike the situation during Katrina, there will be no "shelter of last resort," the city said. In 2005, the city's Louisiana Superdome housed thousands of New Orleanians who couldn't, or didn't, heed the mandatory evacuation order. Watch FEMA administrator talk about being proactive û
The arena -- which grew dark, hot and increasingly fetid after the electricity failed and the plumbing was overwhelmed in the storm -- became a symbol of the disaster and the much-maligned government response to it.
New Orleans has designated 17 locations for people without transportation to board buses to take them to the Union terminal, where they will be transported to shelters outside New Orleans.
However, instead of waiting at one of the stops, scores of residents went directly to the terminal, leading to some initial confusion.
"We're just being flexible," said Jerry Sneed, of City Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, explaining that the sheriff's office had ushered the people into lines outside the terminal.
"It's frustrating to see that they don't listen, but it's good seeing that they are coming."
In addition, the city arranged with Amtrak for more than 7,000 seats to evacuate the elderly by train.
The city's airport is scheduled to close Sunday at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET), a spokesman there said.
As the storm began to track westward, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Friday there is "a little bit less certainty than there was yesterday" of a direct hit to New Orleans or other populated areas in the state. But he urged Louisianans to be prepared for the very real possibility of another strike.
More than a dozen parishes have declared states of emergency, he said, adding that several coastal parishes began voluntary evacuations Friday and would continue mandatory evacuations Saturday.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour announced Friday that Hurricane Katrina victims living in government-issued trailers or mobile homes along his state's coast would begin evacuating Saturday.
Notice was being given to people living in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers or mobile homes, as well as people living in more permanent structures known as "Mississippi cottages," he said.
About 4,300 families live in FEMA trailers or mobile homes, while some 2,800 live in Mississippi cottages, the governor's office said.
Earlier in the week, at least 51 people were killed in southwestern Haiti and eight were killed in neighboring Dominican Republic as Gustav roared through as a Category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, officials there said. Four people in Jamaica were killed.
Hurricanes are ranked 1-5 in intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale. A Category 3 hurricane has sustained winds from 111 to 130 mph and is capable of causing extensive damage. A Category 4 has winds of 131 to 155 mph and can cause extreme damage.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/08/30...index.html