NEWS:RESIDENTS OF NEW ORLEANS FLEE AS HURRICANE GUSTAV APPROACHES
[Residents wait for evacuation bus in front of Armstrong Park in downtown New Orleans.]
On the eve of Hurricane Katrina, residents in New Orleans are facing yet another catastrophic storm.New Orleans mayor Mayor C. Ray Nagin has ordered residents to flee before the arrival of Hurricane Gustav;everyone was ordered to leave beginning Sunday morning:
The compulsory evacuation of the city is under way after orders from Mayor Ray Nagin, who warned the “storm of the century” is churning in the Gulf of Mexico.No traffic is being allowed to drive into New Orleans.It is almost three years to the day since Hurricane Katrina swept through the birthplace of jazz, killing hundreds and exposing deep poverty and lack of preparation.Fox correspondent Marianne Silber said billions of dollars of repair work has been left undone and authorities are worried about the damage Gustav could do.
“The forecasters are saying this is going to be worse than anything they have ever seen and they absolutely do not want people taking chances,” she told Sky News.Highways around New Orleans are jammed and hundreds of people have been lining up to board buses as authorities urge residents to get out before the storm gets any closer.
After passing over Cuba, Gustav lost some power and dropped to Category 3 - but the fierce storm is now back over the warm Gulf waters where it will pick up strength again, possibly reaching a catastrophic Category 5.
With such a wide base, Gustav is expected to affect areas up to 70 miles from the eye, spawining tornadoes in Florida, lashing many areas with rain and causing landslides.
In comaparison, Hurricane Katrina was at Category 3 when its 28ft storm surge burst the levees protecting New Orleans on August 29, 2005, flooding 80% of the city.
Hurricane Gustav is expected to hit sometime late Monday,early Tuesday morning.
For real, all the folks in the NO and Gulf Coast are definitely in my prayers.
omg it is horrible that it appear at all.
Smh…These hurricanes are terrible.
I am so happy to see that they are evacuating the residents. It saddens me to know that so many innocent people had to die in Katrina when the services that they are providing now were available at that time. May the lives lost in Katrina always be remembered. I also pray for the survivors of Katrina who must live with the memories of that tragic event.