New Orleans Empties as Gustav Closes In
Three Years After the Katrina Disaster, Few Seem Reluctant to Leave Town

By Dana Hedgpeth and Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, August 31, 2008

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 30 -- Hundreds of thousands of residents along the Gulf Coast began evacuating from their homes Saturday ahead of Hurricane Gustav, which swelled from an already deadly tropical storm into a monster depression with winds of more than 150 mph.

The threat of Gustav, coming three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated a broad swath of the Gulf Coast, drew a hefty amount of wary respect from city, state and federal officials, all of whom urged residents to head north well ahead of the storm's landfall, expected late Monday or early Tuesday.

Gustav has already killed 81 people in the Caribbean. On Saturday, it slammed into western Cuba, knocking out power in Havana. The Cuban government said that it had moved 190,000 people from low-lying areas.

In New Orleans, local officials said they would turn all lanes of traffic on major highways into one-way routes headed away from the city, starting early Sunday morning.

But many residents were not waiting to leave. By dinnertime Saturday, St. Charles Avenue, the main drag through the residential Garden District, was all but deserted. National Guard troops patrolled the street, walking by a few celebrants of Southern Decadence, an annual Labor Day weekend event that draws thousands of gays and lesbians.

Jackson Square, a part of the French Quarter that is regularly lined with horse-drawn carriages and street artists, was abandoned, as well, save for a few palm readers and homeless people. Private security guards wearing bulletproof vests and bristling with semiautomatic weapons were out in force in front of the InterContinental Hotel, which was preparing to evacuate all guests and close its doors Sunday morning.

The hurricane threatened to disrupt oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, energy analysts warned, and companies with offshore rigs in the gulf said they had significantly cut their production. Oil refiners also reduced their operations.

After clearing the Cayman Islands, Gustav gained strength Saturday and became a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Forecasters are predicting that the storm will reach Category 5 -- the strongest level -- with winds higher than 155 mph before hitting the Gulf Coast states. The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas's eastern coast.

At Union Passenger Terminal, this city's Amtrak station and one of 17 evacuation centers, residents said they were wiser about the danger of Gustav after going through the ravages of Katrina.

"We didn't get out last time and it was a mistake. I'm not sure where we're going, but I'm happy to get out of here," said Maria Cooper, who stood in line with 10 family members for evacuation to designated shelters in north Louisiana and beyond. Cooper stayed home during Katrina, only to get forced out when levees broke and flooded her neighborhood. She ended up at the city's convention center, where supplies of food and water ran out.

Benjamin Turner, 53, said he didn't hesitate to heed the call from city officials to leave. A disabled laborer, Turner said he tried to ride out Katrina with his then-8-year-old son, Benjamin Jr., and 6-year-old daughter, Special. But when flooding forced them to leave their 8th Ward neighborhood, Turner said his little girl fell and drowned as the family waded through chest-high water.

"I'm not going through that again," Turner said, choking up as he spoke. "Katrina cost me a lot. It cost me everything."

City buses fanned out across the city Saturday morning to start carrying people to the passenger terminal from 17 designated pickup spots. There are between 310,000 to 325,000 people living in New Orleans -- about 75 percent of the population pre-Katrina, according to city officials.

Three years after this city was devastated by Katrina, another Category 5 storm, Mayor C. Ray Nagin said he is strongly considering a mandatory evacuation starting Sunday, and curfews for those who stay. And he told those visiting New Orleans, "It is time for you to leave the city."

"We are telling people to get out today," Nagin said, adding, "The next time you hear us, the message is going to be 'Get the heck out.' "

Unlike with Hurricane Katrina, the city is not opening any shelters of last resort for Gustav. Those who stay behind accept "all responsibility for themselves and their loved ones," said the city's emergency preparedness director, Jerry Sneed.

For government officials here, in the state capital of Baton Rouge and in Washington, the storm presented a grim challenge to redeem their poor performances from three years ago.

Outside of the New Orleans metropolitan area, state officials were preparing to evacuate Louisiana's coastal parishes. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said that process was likely to start on Saturday. He again warned Louisiana residents who have the means to stock up on food, water and other essentials and prepare to head away from the coast.

In Washington, federal authorities noted that trains, buses, planes and ambulances were already operating 72 hours before landfall to take the most vulnerable out of harm's way. No such mechanisms were in place in August 2005. And they said mayors, governors and federal officials were working much more closely together than before.

"I'm not asking for people to believe me. I'm asking people to watch and see what we're doing," said R. David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

President Bush called the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas early Saturday morning from the White House, checking on whether the officials need more from his administration ahead of Gustav.

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), who chaired a House panel that investigated the response to Katrina, said lessons clearly were learned from that catastrophe.

The White House, Davis said, had the chance "of wiping Hurricane Katrina from people's minds a little bit by how they react this time."

As the storm approached Saturday, consumers and oil companies scrambled to protect facilities and supplies.

Major oil companies have been evacuating thousands of personnel from their drilling and production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico for days. Shell, for example, has evacuated all 1,400 of its workers, shuttling helicopters back and forth to platforms as far as two hours from shore, company spokesman Shaun Wiggins said Saturday night.

The gulf accounts for 26 percent of U.S. oil production and 12 percent of U.S. natural gas production, according to the Energy Department. There were 37 deep-water rigs drilling there earlier this month.

Shell said that its gasoline stations all along the coast were seeing a spike in demand as motorists tried to hoard fuel in case the hurricane disrupted refineries, roads and pipelines.

The company said that approximately 10 percent of the Shell-branded stations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and surrounding areas had run out of fuel by Saturday morning. Disruptions elsewhere were "minimal," the company said.

Oil companies said that vehicle traffic due to the evacuation was already causing delays in tanker deliveries to the area.

Oil refineries also were keeping close watch on the storm. Valero, which has seven refineries along the Gulf coast, said last night that it had begun to shut down its refinery in St. Charles, La., and that its Texas refineries at Port Arthur, Texas City and Houston were operating yesterday at reduced rates.

Nagin said between 1,500 and 2,000 National Guard members are on hand and will "lock down" the city once it is evacuated. He said that there are 300 more New Orleans police officers on call than there were during Katrina, but that the city is being more sensitive to those who may be overstressed from dealing with Katrina and cannot work overtime.

Paulison urged all residents to heed evacuation warnings.

"There is no reason for anyone in the city of New Orleans to ride out this storm. It is simply too dangerous," he said. "We're going to be dealing with a very, very serious storm."

But instead of preparing to hit the road, Vanessa Mitchell, 49, was at a grocery store, stocking up on food, water and ice. Mitchell had a rental car and an urge to leave, but she was overruled by her fiancé and 25-year-old son.

"I wanted to go, but my family just doesn't want to do it," she said. "Last time, for Katrina, it took us 22 hours to get to Dallas. I guess that was just too much stress. So we're going to stay and hope for the best. We've got a generator, candles, food, everything we need."

Nevertheless, Mitchell said doubts continued to creep into her mind, especially after talking to friends and neighbors on their way out of town.

"Every time I talk to people, there's a big debate about whether to stay or go," Mitchell said. "It's so emotional after what happened last time."

Hsu reported from Washington. Staff writers Steven Mufson in Washington, Jacqueline L. Salmon in New Orleans and correspondent Mike Perlstein in New Orleans contributed to this report.