Thousands evacuate New Orleans area in advance of Hurricane Gustav

[Refugee 7]

NEW ORLEANS -- In cars, buses and trains, thousands of people fled New Orleans and its outlying parishes this morning as Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Gulf Coast.

Cars packed with children, suitcases and pet carriers jammed roadways leading north and west out of the city. Downtown, thousands more lined up in the morning heat, toting backpacks and plastic bags of food as they waited to board buses and trains to shelters in northern Louisiana and neighboring states.

By the end of the day, city officials hoped to evacuate at least 30,000 people who lack transportation or are too sick or old to get out on their own.

The evacuation process was far more orderly than the chaotic crush of people who jammed the Superdome and civic center after Katrina struck three years ago, crammed into squalid conditions as emergency efforts floundered.

Today, police kept residents in neatly formed lines outside the city's Amtrak station, where volunteers handed out water and packs of cookies. Inside, city workers sat at tables in front of laptops, using hand-held scanners to read bar codes on wristbands issued to each evacuee.

Although people outside waited in the hot sun for up to two hours, the station was air-conditioned inside. Volunteers helped evacuees carry suitcases and pushed wheelchair-bound people into lines awaiting trains or buses.

Louisiana National Guard soldiers sealed off the Superdome, turning away traffic and pedestrians. City officials have urged people to leave the city, stressing that there will be no city-run shelters in New Orleans.

Hospitals and nursing homes began evacuating patients Friday and continuing moving them out of the city today.

Parishes outside New Orleans planned to begin mandatory evacuations today, followed soon by New Orleans itself, probably early Sunday. Beginning early Sunday morning, major roadways will be one-way only, heading inland.

Traffic out of town was heavy today, but police kept cars moving at a steady pace.

Police in New Orleans and the parishes said they will establish curfews after mandatory evacuations get underway. Anyone venturing beyond their own homes or apartments will risk arrest, they said.

Gustav, swelling into a Category 3 hurricane, was south of Cuba today. The latest forecasts called for the storm to make landfall just west of New Orleans as early as Monday, but forecasters cautioned that Gustav could strike anywhere along the Gulf coast from Texas to Florida early next week.

Residents who left under the city-assisted evacuation were assigned to destinations -- either cities in northern Louisiana by bus or Memphis by train.

"I don't care when they send me -- as long as it's away from all that water," said Earlene Antoine, 67, who was trapped in her flooded home in downtown New Orleans by Katrina in 2005. "I can handle the hurricane -- I just can't handle the water."

Antoine wore a T-shirt that read: "Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief 2005."

Outside the train station, Cheryl Ambrose was wilting in the heat after two hours in line. She felt faint, she said, because she had forgotten to pack her blood pressure medicine when she left the Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer where she lives, in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans.

Ambrose, 46, had walked a mile across a bridge, toting a heavy suitcase, to reach a bus that took her to the train station. She had no way to get back to the trailer, issued by FEMA when she lost her home in the lower 9th Ward to Katrina.

She said she was more concerned about her blood pressure than where authorities might send her. She planned to stop by a medical station set up inside the train station.

"As long as I get my medicine, I don't care where they send me as long as it's dry and safe," she said.

At the other end of the station, volunteers were registering household pets brought by evacuees. The animals were given paper collar tags that matched the bar codes of their owners' wristbands. They were put in pet carriers and loaded onto air-conditioned trucks headed to Shreveport, where they will be reunited with their owners, who will arrive on separate buses.

Derek King, 23, registered his 4-month old pit bull terrier, Grunion, then patted his nose as Grunion was tagged, caged and hauled away.

"I stayed and stuck it out during Katrina," King said, "but not this time. I didn't have my dog then, and he goes where I go."

[nurktwin 2,143]

i hope everything works out good and everyone is safe.

[Pettyjunkie 0]

Eek! I hope everyone remains safe.

[KansasPettyFan 1]

Fingers crossed the weather people are wrong. I think it is good that people are heeding the warning to get out and not waiting around to be taken care of if it does hit.

[Echosoftom 3]

I'm hoping this thing is downgradedto a tropical storm by the time it hits the U.S. coast. This must be so frightening for those people in those targeted cities and towns. Hurricanes scare the hell out of me.

[agirl 0]

^ I do too. I feel so sorry for these people. At least they seem to be evacuating better this time around.

[WildflowerNJ 136]

Man, Mother Nature can be so scary!! Wishing everyone to be safe and these storms to go away soon....

[menmont63 0]

I hope everyone gets out safe and that this madness ends soon...everyone over there is in my prayers

[poppiesgal 0]

I applaud Ray Nagin's honesty as he communicates the "get out now - if you choose to stay, there will be no one here to help you" message to the folks in New Orleans and surrounding parishes - it seems to be working - thank God.

As much as it sucks, you just can't sugar coat the truth in a situation like this.

[wild1forever 152]

This is so awful for New Orleans; I sure do hope and pray they don't get hit yet again. I can't even imagine the damage a Category 5 hurricane will inflict.

[Pankie 0]

Just looked at the update on the CNN website. Gustav is heading straight toward the Gulf and these people are screwed. It's currently packing 120 mph wind gusts and it's been upgraded to the Category 3. All you need is the warm waters of the Gulf and there you have it, a possible Category 5 storm....

May God Bless all of these people and pets.....

Edited August 31, 2008 by Pankie
Corrected a typo

[Starfish 0]

My sister's family lives west of New Orleans, they evacuated to Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday. I am really f-ing sick of hurricanes, imagine how they must feel...

[Refugee 7]

A whole bunch of my favorite Air Force men are deploying today to help out in New Orleans and wherever else they are needed. I hope they all stay safe.

[Echosoftom 3]

Oh my lord. I just saw the same thing Pankie. These people have had enough already. This storm sounds like it could be another devastating event. I'm with you Nancy, I've had it with these friggin' hurricanes!

[Marion 1,411]

I wish the best for them. I can't believe some people are still staying put after Katrina. Very scary.

[tplover2 18]

So sad for the ones that are unable to leave. I think for the most part they are more prepared this time. I hope and pray for everyone in that area.

[WildflowerNJ 136]

Sending my prayers and hoping everyone will stay safe....

[Pankie 0]

Bad news -- the levees are over flowing.....

[Starfish 0]

Water over the top, but the levees are holding.

Really bad news for my sister, who lives in Franklin - the storm is moving really slowly, which means lots of flooding. Again.

[nurktwin 2,143]

i hope everyone there stays safe and the storm fizzles out. i've been following it on tv the past few days and have seen many interviews with mayors, governors and engineers. there are supposedly about 330 miles of levees and in the 3 years since katrina only about 200 miles have been made higher and stronger. what gets me is how can only 2/3 of the work be done in 3 years and donald trump can build a 100 story tower in a month and have gambling going on and all the condos in it sold and lived in? something seems wrong to me.

[Pankie 0]

Good point, Nurk...

At one point, the Mayor of LA commented that NY has a hole in the ground and that why weren't we doing anything about it. New Yorkers gave him a mouthful and soon after he apologized...

[Starfish 0]

Another update - the roof blew off my sister's bakery.

[Echosoftom 3]

^ Oh no. Nancy, I'm sorry to hear that. Even though they're saying Gustav was not as bad as Katrina, there was still plenty of damage. I am glad to see the levees held up.

[Refugee 7]

Well...shit. I'm so sorry to hear that, Nancy. I hope her home is okay.

[WildflowerNJ 136]

Oh no, Nancy!! I am so sorry to hear that.....I hope her home is okay, too....my prayers and best wishes to all.....