Hurricane Gustav grew into the “mother of all storms” tonight as it screamed towards America’s Gulf coast, forcing one million people to evacuate and turning New Orleans into a virtual ghost city.
Fresh from a killing spree in the Caribbean, where it killed at least 81 people, the storm is expected to strike the Louisiana coastline tomorrow with winds of up to 155mph, threatening a potential catastrophe worse than Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“You need to be scared, you need to be concerned, and you need to get your butts moving out of New Orleans right now. This is the storm of the century,” warned Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans, as he issued a mandatory evacuation order.
“This storm is so powerful, and growing more powerful, that I’m not sure we’ve seen anything like it…this is the real deal, this is not a test, so anyone out there thinking they can ride this storm out, I have news for you: that would be the biggest mistake of your life.”
Fresh from a killing spree in the Caribbean, where it killed at least 81 people, the storm is expected to strike the Louisiana coastline tomorrow with winds of up to 155mph, threatening a potential catastrophe worse than Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“You need to be scared, you need to be concerned, and you need to get your butts moving out of New Orleans right now. This is the storm of the century,” warned Ray Nagin, the Mayor of New Orleans, as he issued a mandatory evacuation order.
“This storm is so powerful, and growing more powerful, that I’m not sure we’ve seen anything like it…this is the real deal, this is not a test, so anyone out there thinking they can ride this storm out, I have news for you: that would be the biggest mistake of your life.”
All routes into the city were turned into one-way streets, allowing traffic to flow out quicker. Families packed their pets and possessions and joined the nose-to-tail queue of cars heading in all directions, heading for shelter inland or further along the coast in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
“Take what you want Gustav,” said a sign scribbled on the back window of one car. “Katrina left us with nothing anyway.”
Another read: Down but not out; we’ll be back Gustav.”
The scale of the preparations and relatively slick execution of emergency plans contrasted sharply with the chaos that surrounded the Hurricane Katrina disaster three years ago, in which evacuation orders were issued too late and tens of thousands were left stranded in a flooded city.
Tourists and those without the means to leave town were directed to 17 pick-up points to await transportation provided by city and state authorities. Up to 16,000 of them were being airlifted to other cities around the US on charter flights paid for by the federal government; others were put on trains or buses.
The Red Cross said that it was expecting to shelter 500,000 evacuees from across the Gulf coast region and stood ready to provide 750,000 meals a day. Hotels within a six-hour drive of New Orleans were booked solid.
National Guardsmen using loud hailers went street-to-street urging residents to leave, and knocking on doors to check compliance.
Gloria Guy, 68, who was rescued after spending nine hours on the roof of her flooded home in the Lower Ninth ward during Hurricane Katrina, was leaving only reluctantly, along with her three children and eight grandchildren. She saw neighbours die in the 2005 disaster, after a wall of water swept through the protective levees holding back a canal, and does not believe that tragedy could strike the neighbourhood twice.
“Take what you want Gustav,” said a sign scribbled on the back window of one car. “Katrina left us with nothing anyway.”
Another read: Down but not out; we’ll be back Gustav.”
The scale of the preparations and relatively slick execution of emergency plans contrasted sharply with the chaos that surrounded the Hurricane Katrina disaster three years ago, in which evacuation orders were issued too late and tens of thousands were left stranded in a flooded city.
Tourists and those without the means to leave town were directed to 17 pick-up points to await transportation provided by city and state authorities. Up to 16,000 of them were being airlifted to other cities around the US on charter flights paid for by the federal government; others were put on trains or buses.
The Red Cross said that it was expecting to shelter 500,000 evacuees from across the Gulf coast region and stood ready to provide 750,000 meals a day. Hotels within a six-hour drive of New Orleans were booked solid.
National Guardsmen using loud hailers went street-to-street urging residents to leave, and knocking on doors to check compliance.
Gloria Guy, 68, who was rescued after spending nine hours on the roof of her flooded home in the Lower Ninth ward during Hurricane Katrina, was leaving only reluctantly, along with her three children and eight grandchildren. She saw neighbours die in the 2005 disaster, after a wall of water swept through the protective levees holding back a canal, and does not believe that tragedy could strike the neighbourhood twice.
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