There are massive evacuations underway in Texas and Louisiana using military vehicles and buses. Troops and ships have been sent from various parts of the country already.
The Governor of LA just held a press conference in which he said he has been told by the National Hurricane Center that this storm could be "as bad as it gets," with tidal surges of 15-20 feet and "flooding as bad as Katrina."
They showed the cone going from Houston to New Orleans, with NOLA at the upper right quadrant of the eye as it makes landfall.
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Gustav slams Cuba as Cat 4 storm; many evacuated
AP
CHALMETTE, La.
A million people took to Gulf Coast highways Saturday, boarding up homes and businesses and fleeing dangerous Hurricane Gustav by bus and automobile as the season's most powerful Atlantic storm took aim at Louisiana. Even forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami were surprised at how quickly Gustav gained strength as it charged toward Cuba. It went from a tropical storm to a Category 4 in about 24 hours.
A mandatory evacuation order was expected as early as Saturday night. Hotels closed, and the New Orleans airport prepared to follow suit. Mayor Ray Nagin, saying the danger to the city was growing, told tourists to leave. Unlike Katrina, when thousands took refuge inside the Superdome, there will be no "last resort" shelter, and those who stay behind accept "all responsibility for themselves and their loved ones," said the city's emergency preparedness director, Jerry Sneed.
Yet the presence of 2,000 National Guard troops that were expected to join 1,400 New Orleans police officers patrolling the streets following the evacuation -- along with Gov. Bobby Jindal's request to neighboring states for rescue teams - suggested officials were expecting stragglers.
National Guard soldiers on Mississippi's coast were going door-to-door to alert thousands of families in FEMA trailers and cottages that they should be prepared to evacuate Sunday. In Alabama, shelters were opened and 3,000 National Guard personnel assembled to help evacuees from Mississippi and Louisiana.
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