.bmp)
.bmp)
NEW ORLEANS - National Guard troops stand ready, batteries and water bottles are selling briskly, and one small-town mayor has spent a sleepless night worrying. The New Orleans area is skittishly watching as a storm marches across the Caribbean on the eve of Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary.With forecasters warning that a strengthening Gustav could slam into the Gulf Coast as a major hurricane, a New Orleans still recovering from Hurricane Katrina's devastating hit drew up evacuation plans."I'm panicking," said Evelyn Fuselier of Chalmette, whose home was submerged in 14 feet of floodwater when Katrina hit. Fuselier said she's been back home only a year and nervously watched as Gustav swirled toward the Gulf of Mexico. "I keep thinking, 'Did the Corps fix the levees?,' 'Is my house going to flood again?' ... 'Am I going to have to go through all this again?'"Taking no chances, city officials began preliminary planning to evacuate and lock down the city in hopes of avoiding the catastrophe that followed Katrina in 2005.New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin left the Democratic National Convention in Denver to return home for the preparations.Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency to lay the groundwork for federal assistance, and put 3,000 National Guard troops on standby.A day after stalling off Haiti's coast, Gustav was centered about 80 miles east of Kingston, Jamaica, and moving slowly toward the west-southwest near 6 mph at 8 a.m. EDT Thursday. The storm was expected to pass very close to Jamaica later in the day, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Gaining strength over warm Caribbean waters, Gustav was expected to again become a hurricane later Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. It said maximum sustained winds rose from about 50 mph to near 70 mph overnight.Meanwhile, a new tropical depression formed farther east in the Atlantic with winds near 35 mph.Forecasters said Wednesday that Gustav could strengthen to a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 111 mph or higher in coming days before hitting somewhere between the Florida Panhandle and Texas.If a Category 3 or stronger hurricane comes within 60 hours of the city, New Orleans plans to institute a mandatory evacuation order. Unlike Katrina, there will be no massive shelter at the Superdome, a plan designed to encourage residents to leave. Instead, the state has arranged for buses and trains to take people to safety.It was unclear what would happen to stragglers. Jerry Sneed, the city's emergency preparedness director, said officials are ready to move about 30,000 people. Nearly 8,000 people had signed up for transportation help by late Wednesday. To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
