Gustav may or may not prove to be the “Mother of all Storms” but clearly Mayor Nagin doesn’t want to wait to find out. It will be either a Category 3 or 4 storm when it does reach landfall on the US coast sometime Monday.
NEW ORLEANS, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Hurricane Gustav churned toward the Louisiana coast through the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico on Sunday with strength that could rival 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, prompting low-lying New Orleans to begin evacuation.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin late on Saturday ordered the city’s 239,000 residents to leave in the face of “the mother of all storms.”
If Gustav lands west of New Orleans as expected, as a Category 4 hurricane with wind speeds up to 155 mph (249 kph), its 25-foot (7.6 metre) storm surge could break through the same levees that failed three year ago and swamp the city.
More than 11.5 million U.S. residents in five states could feel the impact of the massive storm.
This is frankly, the worst thing that could happen to the people of the Gulf Coast only 3 years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone living there. And please, if any of our readers are still in the area where this storm is expected to hit, please leave as soon as possible. Don’t take any chances.
