Gustav Drowns Out Katrina Anniversary Plans
Gulf Coast Gears Up For Gustav
POSTED: 6:45 am CDT August 27, 2008
UPDATED: 7:26 am CDT August 29, 2008
The solemn ceremonies New Orleans planned Friday for the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina have, for the most part, been blown away by a storm officials fear could also be devastating.
Tropical Storm Gustav could become a major hurricane later this weekend, posing the biggest threat to New Orleans since deadly Katrina in 2005.
An early morning service honoring the unclaimed bodies left by Katrina and a bell ringing service scheduled for 9:38 a.m. Central, when the first levee broke, are the only events still scheduled Friday.
Instead, the National Guard planned to start moving in Friday, and an evacuation order is likely to go into effect Saturday. Residents south of New Orleans could be told to leave Friday.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said he would order a mandatory evacuation of the city if forecasters predict a Category 3 strike, or possibly even a Category 2, within 72 hours.
Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have been meeting with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Texas also put its National Guard on standby.
Gustav To Leave Jamaica
The spinning core of Gustav was expected to move back over open water Friday, a day after bearing down on southern Jamaica.
The tropical storm hit Jamaica on Thursday after leaving 67 people dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
At least 59 people died in Haiti from floods, mudslides and falling trees, including 25 around the city of Jacmel, where Gustav first struck land Tuesday. Eight more people were buried when a cliff gave way in the Dominican Republic.
Gustav is expected to head toward the Cayman Islands as it leaves Jamaica.
At 5 a.m. EDT Friday, the storm was centered on Jamaica's southwest coast, about 85 miles west of Kingston and moving west at about 8 mph. Gustav's maximum sustained winds decreased to near 65 mph, but forecasters said it could strengthen into a hurricane before slamming into Grand Cayman on Friday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in Jamaica, but many people lost power Thursday, and the streets of Kingston were deserted as heavy winds and rain lashed the capital.
Coast Prepares For Worst
During a press conference Thursday in Baton Rouge, La., state and federal heads addressed the serious nature of the storm and the worst-case scenario. Jindal said residents cannot simply wait for Gustav's destruction, urging them to "take this storm seriously." (Video )
Hospitals in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast were anxiously preparing for the storm, looking to forgo a repeat of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
They've canceled elective surgery and stocked up on food and other supplies. And the most fragile patients are already being moved.
At least 140 patients died in hospitals and nursing homes after Katrina made landfall three years ago.
And further away, communities are getting ready for the storm evacuees that shocked the region after Katrina.
On the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and on the heels of Tropical Storm Gustav threatening U.S. landfall, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management penned disaster plans.
Dave Maxwell, director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said Fort Smith, Ark., would be able to assist 4,000 Louisiana evacuees. He said the agreement was recently made with state officials, reported TV station KHBS.
During Katrina, more than 12,000 evacuees came to Fort Smith, which presented a flurry of logistical and resource issues. Maxwell said the lessons from Katrina and advance warning of Gustav has neighboring states fine-tuning their plans.
"We know better what to expect this time," he said. "They know better how to evacuate."
National Aid Already En Route
Michael Chertoff, of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Thursday that the organization was already working, but said, "Ultimately, success of how we weather the storm lies in the hands of individual citizens."
And as residents pack their belongings and look to the skies, others were heading to the coast.
The American Red Cross was checking on shelters, deploying trucks that could deliver food, and shipping cots, blankets and hygiene kits into the region.
Red Cross workers from Oklahoma City said plan to leave for the Gulf Coast early Friday to help out in case becomes as a major hurricane, reported Oklahoma City TV station KOCO.
Tropical Storm Hanna Distracts Little From Gustav
As Gustav soaks up the spotlight, the National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Hanna formed northeast of the northern Leeward Islands in the Atlantic, but was a very disorganized weather pattern.
Hanna, the eighth tropical storm of the Atlantic season, had top sustained winds near 50 mph Friday morning.
Hanna could produce rainfall of 1 to 2 inches across parts of the Leeward Islands. It's too soon to say if Hanna will affect the United States.
New Orleans is on my mind today, naturally, this being the third anniversary of the storm that caused us to relocate to Florida. I hope Gustav turns away from "The City that Care Forgot", also known as "The Big Easy" because just like the levees couldn't withstand Katrina, they cannot stand up to another direct hit, which is why we didn't move back.
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