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CNN) -- As forecasters warned Hurricane Gustav could hit Louisiana on Monday with devastating effect, officials pleaded with Gulf Coast residents to flee and Republicans said they'd abbreviate the opening day of their national convention.
The streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans clear out as residents evacuate in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav.
1 of 3 more photos » As of 5 p.m. ET, the eye of the Category 3 storm was about 215 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said.
Hurricane-force winds could hit Louisiana's southern coast by sunrise Monday, and the storm's center could hit southwest of New Orleans by early Monday afternoon, CNN meteorologists said.
Those in the projected path of the storm -- particularly those in New Orleans, which was battered three years ago by Hurricane Katrina -- should leave without delay, said David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"It does not make sense to put you, your family or first responders at risk by just sitting there when there's plenty of opportunity to get out," Paulison said Sunday.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who demanded city residents evacuate, said the city will impose a "dusk-to-dawn" curfew and will cease efforts to help people leave the city Sunday afternoon.
The city-wide curfew will continue until the threat of the storm passes, Nagin said, warning looters would be dealt with harshly.
"Anybody who's caught looting in the city of New Orleans will go directly to Angola [Louisiana State Penitentiary]. You will not have a temporary stay in the city. You go directly to the big house, in general population," he said.
At 5 p.m. ET Sunday, the storm was moving at 18 mph across the central Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said.
The storm had maximum winds of 115 mph, with higher gusts, forecasters said. Though Gustav should still be a Category 3 storm (winds between 111 and 130 mph) at landfall, it could intensify to a Category 4 storm, with winds of 131 to 155 mph, forecasters said.
Katrina hit the area as a Category 3, causing severe flooding and killing more than 1,800 people.
Dangerous storm surges of 10 to 14 feet above normal tides are expected near and to the east of Gustav's center, forecasters said. Rain accumulations between 6 to 12 inches are possible over parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches, through Wednesday morning, according to forecasters.
Gustav killed at least 51 people in southwestern Haiti and eight in the neighboring Dominican Republic last week before moving to Cuba. It was in the Caribbean on Friday and intensified just before it hit Cuba.
The storm altered plans for the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to run from Monday through Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Rick Davis, campaign manager for presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain, said Monday's session would run only from 3 to 5:30 p.m. CT, and will include only activities that are necessary to launch the event.
"Owing to the fact that [McCain] has asked us to take our Republican hats off and put our American hats on, tomorrow's program will be business only, and we'll refrain from any political rhetoric that would be traditional in an opening session of a convention," Davis said.
Convention plans for the rest of the week will be made as the storm is assessed, he said.
Earlier Sunday, President Bush said he would forgo an appearance at the convention on Monday to go to Texas to meet with emergency workers and evacuees.
He urged Gulf Coast residents to get out of the storm's path.
"This storm is dangerous," Bush warned after a briefing at FEMA headquarters, urging residents to heed calls to evacuate.
Also Sunday, a federally supported computer projection says Gustav could cause up to $29.3 billion in property damage when it hits the Gulf Coast.
The software, developed by FEMA and the National Institute of Building Sciences, also projected Sunday that 4.5 million people will be in the storm's path and 59,953 buildings will be destroyed. The path also ensnares about 170 hospitals and more than 1,100 police and fire stations.
Roadways heading out of Louisiana were clogged with cars Sunday, CNN personnel observed.
In New Orleans, Nagin said that between 14,000 and 15,000 people had left the city on buses and trains the city had provided -- much lower than the initial estimate of 30,000.
"We're just not seeing those kind of numbers in terms of people needing city-assisted services," Nagin said. "The 30,000 number may have been high."
State, local and federal officials urged residents across the region to flee. Many of those residents obeyed, moving north by the tens of thousands, according to officials.
Charter flights, paid for with federal funds, carried thousands of evacuees to other Southern cities, including Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis in Tennessee.
The air evacuation was part of a detailed plan developed in response to criticism after Katrina's chaos.
But not everyone was leaving. Louisiana resident Nick Dominque, 30, said he would stay to look after his parents who live in the southern part of the state.
Dominque was one of the many iReporters who contacted CNN. He said he had weathered Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"I have older parents, and living in South Louisiana, they think that they can handle any storm that hits ... " Dominque said.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said authorities are responding to Gustav better than they reacted to Katrina three years ago.
Speaking to reporters outside Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday, before heading to the Gulf Coast, Chertoff said he has been pleased with the evacuation process, which started full day ahead of when evacuations began for Katrina.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/08/31/gustav/index.html
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^^that shit is fucked up, I just hope everyone there is more prepared this time
CNN) -- As forecasters warned Hurricane Gustav could hit Louisiana on Monday with devastating effect, officials pleaded with Gulf Coast residents to flee and Republicans said they'd abbreviate the opening day of their national convention.
The streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans clear out as residents evacuate in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav.
1 of 3 more photos » As of 5 p.m. ET, the eye of the Category 3 storm was about 215 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said.
Hurricane-force winds could hit Louisiana's southern coast by sunrise Monday, and the storm's center could hit southwest of New Orleans by early Monday afternoon, CNN meteorologists said.
Those in the projected path of the storm -- particularly those in New Orleans, which was battered three years ago by Hurricane Katrina -- should leave without delay, said David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"It does not make sense to put you, your family or first responders at risk by just sitting there when there's plenty of opportunity to get out," Paulison said Sunday.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who demanded city residents evacuate, said the city will impose a "dusk-to-dawn" curfew and will cease efforts to help people leave the city Sunday afternoon.
The city-wide curfew will continue until the threat of the storm passes, Nagin said, warning looters would be dealt with harshly.
"Anybody who's caught looting in the city of New Orleans will go directly to Angola [Louisiana State Penitentiary]. You will not have a temporary stay in the city. You go directly to the big house, in general population," he said.
At 5 p.m. ET Sunday, the storm was moving at 18 mph across the central Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said.
The storm had maximum winds of 115 mph, with higher gusts, forecasters said. Though Gustav should still be a Category 3 storm (winds between 111 and 130 mph) at landfall, it could intensify to a Category 4 storm, with winds of 131 to 155 mph, forecasters said.
Katrina hit the area as a Category 3, causing severe flooding and killing more than 1,800 people.
Dangerous storm surges of 10 to 14 feet above normal tides are expected near and to the east of Gustav's center, forecasters said. Rain accumulations between 6 to 12 inches are possible over parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches, through Wednesday morning, according to forecasters.
Gustav killed at least 51 people in southwestern Haiti and eight in the neighboring Dominican Republic last week before moving to Cuba. It was in the Caribbean on Friday and intensified just before it hit Cuba.
The storm altered plans for the Republican National Convention, which is scheduled to run from Monday through Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Rick Davis, campaign manager for presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain, said Monday's session would run only from 3 to 5:30 p.m. CT, and will include only activities that are necessary to launch the event.
"Owing to the fact that [McCain] has asked us to take our Republican hats off and put our American hats on, tomorrow's program will be business only, and we'll refrain from any political rhetoric that would be traditional in an opening session of a convention," Davis said.
Convention plans for the rest of the week will be made as the storm is assessed, he said.
Earlier Sunday, President Bush said he would forgo an appearance at the convention on Monday to go to Texas to meet with emergency workers and evacuees.
He urged Gulf Coast residents to get out of the storm's path.
"This storm is dangerous," Bush warned after a briefing at FEMA headquarters, urging residents to heed calls to evacuate.
Also Sunday, a federally supported computer projection says Gustav could cause up to $29.3 billion in property damage when it hits the Gulf Coast.
The software, developed by FEMA and the National Institute of Building Sciences, also projected Sunday that 4.5 million people will be in the storm's path and 59,953 buildings will be destroyed. The path also ensnares about 170 hospitals and more than 1,100 police and fire stations.
Roadways heading out of Louisiana were clogged with cars Sunday, CNN personnel observed.
In New Orleans, Nagin said that between 14,000 and 15,000 people had left the city on buses and trains the city had provided -- much lower than the initial estimate of 30,000.
"We're just not seeing those kind of numbers in terms of people needing city-assisted services," Nagin said. "The 30,000 number may have been high."
State, local and federal officials urged residents across the region to flee. Many of those residents obeyed, moving north by the tens of thousands, according to officials.
Charter flights, paid for with federal funds, carried thousands of evacuees to other Southern cities, including Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis in Tennessee.
The air evacuation was part of a detailed plan developed in response to criticism after Katrina's chaos.
But not everyone was leaving. Louisiana resident Nick Dominque, 30, said he would stay to look after his parents who live in the southern part of the state.
Dominque was one of the many iReporters who contacted CNN. He said he had weathered Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
"I have older parents, and living in South Louisiana, they think that they can handle any storm that hits ... " Dominque said.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said authorities are responding to Gustav better than they reacted to Katrina three years ago.
Speaking to reporters outside Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday, before heading to the Gulf Coast, Chertoff said he has been pleased with the evacuation process, which started full day ahead of when evacuations began for Katrina.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/08/31/gustav/index.html
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^^that shit is fucked up, I just hope everyone there is more prepared this time