Gustav Gains Speed Headed For La.

As Category 3 Hurricane Approaches New Orleans, Curfew Will Go Into Effect At Dusk; Bush, Cheney Cancel RNC Visits

(CBS/AP)  As the Mayor of New Orleans said, Gustav is not a storm to play with. And most people are heeding the call.

The mandatory evacuation of the city ahead of Hurricane Gustav began Sunday morning, with residents on the city's vulnerable West Bank told to start leaving first.

By noon, residents in the rest of the city were supposed to be out of their homes and heading to safety.

City officials were nervously watching the storm's track. Gustav roared into the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico on Sunday after destroying homes and roads in Cuba. It picked up speed as it moved northwest at 17 mph with winds of 115 mph with higher gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center's 2 p.m. EDT update. Some re-intensification is forecast during the next 12 to 24 hours, and Gustav could regain Category Four strength later today or tonight.

Hurricane-force winds extended 50 miles from the storm's center, which is about 270 miles southeast of the Mississippi River's mouth.

It was projected to make landfall Monday, and could bring a storm surge of up to 20 feet to the coast and rainfall totals of up to 15 inches.

Mayor Ray Nagin called Gustav "the mother of all storms," and says anyone ignoring calls to leave would be on their own.

In addition to more than 80 deaths attributed to the storm in the Caribbean, a man was swept overboard from a motor vessel 80 miles west of Key West while the boat was passing through heavy weather associated with Gustav.

The man was found dead at approximately 10:50 a.m.


"This Is Still A Big, Ugly Storm"

At a press conference this afternoon, Nagin said the last buses will leave the city by 3 p.m., and that a dusk-to-dawn curfew would be in place for anyone who chose to remain. "Anybody who is on the street after the curfew kicks in will be arrested," Nagin said.

Although according to the mayor there have been only a handful of arrests so far, "We will have zero tolerance for looters. You will go directly to Angola prison, and God bless you when you go there."

Nagin did not minimize the danger posed by Gustav: "Since we are on the wrong side of the storm, we should start to see tornado threats," he said. "This is still a big, ugly storm. It's still strong and I urge everyone to leave."

Nagin expressed some hope that since Gustav has shown to be a fast-moving storm, it might make landfall before gaining even more strength over the Gulf, and would not linger long to dump even more rain on the area.

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Click here for more about CBS News' complete coverage of Hurricane Gustav.

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Calls Go Out In Texas, Ala., Mississippi

Mandatory evacuations have also started in parts of southeast Texas, and are set to continue through midday across a three-county region stretching to the Louisiana state line, with the last mandatory evacuation starting at noon in Beaumont.

In Mississippi, Jackson County officials said there would be a mandatory evacuation for all residents living in low-lying areas, mobile homes, cottages and FEMA travel trailers beginning 8 a.m. Sunday.

The Mississippi Department of Mental Health removed dozens of patients from the South Mississippi Regional Medical Center in Long Beach. Other community living facilities were also evacuated.

In Alabama, Gov. Bob Riley issued a mandatory evacuation order for some coastal parts of Mobile and Baldwin counties in response to Hurricane Gustav.

The evacuation order, effective at 7 a.m. Sunday, covers areas south of Interstate 10 in the southernmost part of Mobile County and on the west side of Mobile Bay, east of Dauphin Island Parkway.

(A Mississippi Highway Patrol vehicle attempts to make its way through northbound traffic on U.S. 55 Sunday as evacuees line the interstate on their way out of the path of Hurricane Gustav, Aug. 31, 2008.)

In Baldwin County, the evacuation order includes Fort Morgan Peninsula and Plash Island.

The order did not immediately include Orange Beach where thousands of tourists, including some Louisiana evacuees, have rooms. Tourism officials estimate some 40,000 visitors are on the Alabama coast for Labor Day.

"We basically have the rest of Sunday to complete the evacuation of the coast of Louisiana as well as evacuation activities in Texas and Mississippi," Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said this morning.

Remarking on reports of coastal residents choosing to stand guard over their property, Chertoff said, "That strikes me as exceptionally foolish. People should heed the instructions to evacuate and protect their own lives."

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Gustav weakened slightly over Cuba and again over the Gulf of Mexico but was expected to regain strength as it moves over warm waters toward the U.S. coast, possibly becoming a top-scale Category 5 hurricane later on Sunday.

Even after slowing to Category 3 status before sunrise Sunday, Gustav packed top winds at 120 mph at 8:00 a.m. The storm was centered 375 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Forecasters upgraded a hurricane watch to a warning for over 500 miles of U.S. Gulf coast from Cameron, Louisiana, near the Texas border to the Alabama-Florida state line, meaning hurricane conditions are expected there within 24 hours.

Forecasters said Gustav was just short of Category 5 strength when it made landfall Saturday on mainland Cuba near the community of Los Palacios in Pinar del Rio.


Bush, Cheney Cancel Trips To GOP Convention

Concerns over the hurricane led the White House to announce Sunday that neither President Bush nor Vice President Dick Cheney will travel to the Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

Mr. Bush was scheduled to speak to the RNC in St. Paul on Monday night.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said alternate plans for the convention are being prepared.

President Bush will be heading to Texas on Monday to meet emergency workers and evacuees, in Austin and San Antonio.

Mr. Bush called New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin this morning, letting him know that he was "checking in and getting ready to go through this with him again."

Nagin told the president that though the forecast was not good, he was pleased with the support he was getting from the federal government and FEMA.

Mr. Bush got an update on the storm, which could make landfall along the Gulf Coast as early as Monday, during a visit to Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters. At a briefing, Mr. Bush sat next to agency director David Paulison and watched a live briefing on a large video screen on Gustav's track and strength.

His Homeland Security chief warned that Gustav could prove more challenging than Katrina and the nation's disaster response coordinator worried about New Orleans' fragile levees.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Paulison have visited the region to monitor developments; Chertoff was returning there Sunday. Equipment and people were put in position and safe shelters readied, with cots, blankets and hygiene kits en route.

Chertoff, who planned to remain in Baton Rouge, La., for the duration of the storm, said coordination among response officials was much better than it was during Katrina.

But he acknowledged some shortcomings so far, including buses that had yet to arrive at evacuation points and last-minute decisions by hospitals to move critically ill patients out of the storm's way.

With New Orleans' mandatory evacuation getting under way, internal government briefing documents obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday said Louisiana was short 750 buses needed for evacuation. Chertoff said school buses were expected to fill in for the contract buses that had not appeared and that the Canadian military was lending planes to help evacuate hospital patients.

"This is probably the case with almost any emergency, which is as soon as you make contact with the enemy, the plan starts to suffer some alterations," Chertoff told reporters at Andrews Air Force base before his departure. He said reports that some Louisiana residents apparently have decided to ride that storm out in their homes "strikes me as exceptionally foolish."

Gustav is "going to be, in some ways, more challenging than Katrina," Chertoff said.

Also in advance of the storm, security firm Blackwater Worldwide, in a notice released on Friday, called for submissions by "qualified security personnel" for possible deployment into areas affected by Hurricane Gustav. Applicants, the notice states, must be U.S. citizens. Contract length is to be determined.

Blackwater gained controversy over its deployment of private security personnel in New Orleans in the wake of Katrina, in addition to its work for the State Department in Iraq.

There is no indication that Blackwater personnel would actually be contracted by the Department of Homeland Security. National Guardsmen and New Orleans police are already in the city and will be patrolling during curfew.

[bob5ford]

Mandatory - that means everyone right? And only buses for 30,000 poor? What dreamers. Let that which is below sea level go back to nature, then maybe we can spend our limited homeland tax dollars on infrastructure where it''s really needed instead of ***** that breech every few years.

[pollroller1]

There will always be some people that will stay and try to ride out the storm. Maybe it''s part of the Darwin
theory.

[smurfcrusher]

Bob5ford - I agree completely.

New Orleans is of the sea, and reclaimed by the sea.

We need to rebuild where people will be safe.

Don''t let people build below sea level on the coast, unless they can drop the level of the sea. ;)

[generey]

Bush "Unlikely" To Attend GOP Convention Due To Storm

Why should he go; it is''nt about him anymore. He is now an official has-been.

[hhroams]

I think Dubya should attend the convention, maybe he could re-enlist Michael Brown to go down to New Orleans to handle things. After all didn''t he give a Medal Of Freedom or something to "You''re doing a good job Brownie" after Katrina? Or maybe he could send down Darth Cheney, he''s a capable charmistic sympathetic person that would make the victims and evacuees feel better just by coming there I''m sure!!!!

[hhroams]

If Dubya, Brownie, or Darth were to go to New Orleans the people probably would state them out on a post at the lowest place below sea level, that way they would know if the ***** & levees worked!!!

[jbright9]

What a break for the GOP. Now they have an excuse to hide Bush away just like they''re hiding Cheney. Just remember that Bush and Cheney will ride into the sunset January 20th but if you vote for McCain a lot of other incompetent insiders will be still be there. That is something to think long and hard about.

[richnj1]

Supposedly McCain and his mistress, er, running mate may show up in the Gulf. Has Sarah Palin even been to Louisiana before? Anyway, the big political danger to the GOP isn''t relief efforts, it''s whether the levees hold. If they break, when the Feds have had three years to build them, it will be a sign of GOP incompetence that will further doom them, and give Obama a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

[timberagain]

Read what jbright9 said at 09:55 AM.

Then read it again.

McCain - McSame.

Vot for change.

[tpraskac]

GET OUT NOW if you are SMART. IF not dont complain. ITS NOW OR NEVER

[promaclaura]

Another hurricane, another bunch of losers who will try to ride it out. The first group who tried to ride it out with Katrina deserved what they got. The state and local elected officials were to blame for not providing a means to escape for the poor who could not. All of them played russian roulette and lost. Today they are using the buses they should have used in Katrina. No more rebuilding under sea level, it''s wasteful spending and pouring money into a swampland. Let''s develop a weather tax, those who choose to live in proven risk areas should pay a tax to live there, that way the rest of the country doesn''t have to bail them out every time the weather comes around to bite them again.

[silverstar06]

New Orleans has been picked apart by the worst corruption for decades now, which has funnelled millions -if not billions of dollars into the pockets of anti government minded corrupt politicians. Their massive chiselling away of state funds intended to safeguard the levees in New Orleans had led to disasters like Kathrina and now potentially Gustav.

Foreseeable natural disasters are the issues that local politics and state (not federal!) taxes are regulated and distributed for. Calling on Washington to provide aide and funds for money that has gone wayward into someone else''s pockets is absolutely irresponsible and dangerous corrupt politics, using the lives of the impoverished victims to enforce these activities. The wretched poverty in New Orleans (and Louisiana) is a result of these corrupt politics, and forcing these people into other communities is going to increase the conflict that it causes in other parts of the country. In those parts that need it least.

This Mr Bobby Jindal could care less, I''m sure, though has acquired the southern drawl a little too perfectly for my suspicion not to arise. Knowing the workings of certain similar communities in the US, I can say the stench of the worst kinds of prostitution and drug involovement permeates disgustingly from them.

[tpraskac]

To all the SMART people. Why would you want to live in New Orleans. Havent you learned a lesson. How many more Canes does it take. Sell and move out this time

[hawksprings]

Oh, so Nagin is going to use the buses this time instead of just whine about Bush?
I guess even old liberals can learn new tricks.

New Orleans should be thankful they at least have a Republican governor this time instead of Blanco.

[lloydbest1]

The latest from The NHC:

Gustav appears to have weakened considerably. Top sustained winds are in the neighborhood of 120 mph and the central pressure has risen to 960 mb or about 28.35 inches. In addition, he has just about left that pool of hot "loop current" water and is having to contend with an unexpectedly strong wind shear and a drying air mass.
But let''s not get all warm and fuzzy. Gustav is still a Cat 3 storm, still capable of packing a knockout punch. He is still chugging along on a path that puts N.O. in his northeast quadrant. Now that the weather wonks believe he will strike Monday rather than early Tuesday, there is even less time to prepare/evacuate and the new moon influence on high tide will be at its strongest when Gustav roars ashore.
Even given the potential to weaken further I doubt it will go much below mid Cat 2 status. That means a 10 to 15 foot storm surge, minimum. IF the levees are as strong as the Army Corps of Engineers thinks they are, they MIGHT withstand that surge. Given that Nagin thinks they might not and has issued a mandatory evac order, it would be prudent to obey it..

[obamanation3]

The CHANGE
We need the winds of CHANGE! Just for a few good examples we had Katrina. It left the people in New Orleans happy and loved? The winds of CHANGE left them homeless and distraught, a good thing right? The winds of CHANGE brought economic disaster, where the people suffered hardships unimaginable to the average person! The winds of CHANGE WAS STRONG IN ITS INFLUENCE in the lives of these individuals! The winds of CHANGE stood tall when it hit! The winds of CHANGE WERE STRONG IN ITS APPROACH! The winds of CHANGE could not be reversed once it struck! The winds of CHANGE have left devastation for years to come! Yes I can see why we need a CHANGE for a wind that we know does not know where it will hit! Or what it will do! Or where it will go! All we know is the winds of CHANGE IS ALWAYS PRESENT BUT NOT MOVING UNTIL IT HITS without warning! Oh if we could only stop it!

Should we allow Barack Hussein Obama to CHANGE us with his wind?
NO and NO again!

[tpraskac]

The longer you wait to leave the further you will have to go to find a place to stay

[downtowner97]

One of the reasons it was so hard to evacuate New Orleans last time was that Katrina hit just before welfare checks were to be issued. This is the case again.

I''ve got a solution: During disasters, issue welfare checks through Western Union so the money can be picked up anywhere.

[sistatee-2009]

Why is it up to the government to have to evacuate these people? Answer: The government has to do EVERYTHING for them, storm or not! So the feds send in every possible means of support. In the long run, you and I pay for the entire thing. And don''t forget, the levee system will have to be rebuilt again, and the evacuees will have to be housed and fed for the next three years. Guess who gets that bill. Yup. Thanks, New Orleans. The Big Helpless.

[deacon20081]

OBAMANATION3

The CHANGE
We need the winds of CHANGE! Just for a few good examples we had Katrina. It left the people in New Orleans happy and loved? The winds of CHANGE left them homeless and distraught, a good thing right? The winds of CHANGE brought economic disaster, where the people suffered hardships unimaginable to the average person! The winds of CHANGE WAS STRONG IN ITS INFLUENCE in the lives of these individuals! The winds of CHANGE stood tall when it hit! The winds of CHANGE WERE STRONG IN ITS APPROACH! The winds of CHANGE could not be reversed once it struck!
--------------------------------------------------
You are talking like Obama caused the Wind Of Change under George Bush...Katrina and the FEMA SNAFU was BUSH..."Good Job BROWNIE" Get a grip fool.
I don''t really care that much for Obama, but ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN JOHN MCBUSH !

[cbsfan73]

George Bush is a Great President!

[tpraskac]

Move to New Jersey. No storms here.

[tpraskac]

We have lots of nice homes and Townhomes, Condos that people can enjoy with lots to do. New York City is close as is Philly. The weather is cooler and jobs galour. So if you are thinking of getting out of New Orleans now come here. You will love this place.

[erasmus81]

Posted by tpraskac at 12:16 PM : Aug 31, 2008

Got room for 30,000 people, do ya?

[cbsfan73]

President Bush is a fantastic President.

[libsluv2spit]

I don''''t really care that much for Obama, but ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN JOHN MCBUSH !

Posted by deacon20081 at 12:04 PM : Aug 31, 2008
+ report abuse

*************
you tell me...why is obama better than mcain??

[nothappyatall]

Here we go again, funny how lately these recent events seem to come around RePUBIC-CON convention time!

"It''s been following us all over Cuba, ruining our vacation," said Morral,"

Poor babe! so while you gripe your little vacation is ''ruined'' there''s 81 dead people killed by this storm who won''t have the chance to take a vacation;

"Gustav already has killed 81 people"


"shattered windows and tore off the tin roofs of homes."

Cluebus for CNS: roofs are not made of ''tin'' they are sheet STEEL, tin if you check the commodities quotes costs about $6.67 to $9.07 a POUND USD and goes up and down in value daily like silver and gold

[yongamerica]

McCain has openly stated he will carry on GW Bushes legacy with policies, international ignorance and massive vacations.

[cbsfan73]

Republicans allow free speech.

[tpraskac]

erasmus81
room for 30000 people are you kidding plenty of room

[cbsfan73]

George Bush cares about the people of New Orleans.

[tpraskac]

Save ya pennies Who will pay for Gustav. Us of course.
Gvt would rather pay Middle East than take care of our own.

[nothappyatall]

Their massive chiselling away of state funds intended to safeguard the levees in New Orleans had led to disasters like Kathrina and now potentially Gustav.
SIlverStar06

The levies were a POOR design from the start, they were also built on SAND which offers almost no foundation or anchorage, in short they were built on the cheap and they got what we paid for- CHEAP substandard construction.
The replacement massive pumps were in the news from the start too- they had numerous defects and design flaws that rendered them hopeless at best, non-functional at worst. Building a city 12 FEET below sea level is stupidity at it''s finest, time to declair the area uninhabitable, level it, turn it into a wildlife refuge or state park and move inland

[alan7388]

Building a city 12 FEET below sea level is
stupidity at it''s finest, time to declair
the area uninhabitable, level it, turn it
into a wildlife refuge or state park and
move inland

New Orleans was a big, thriving city for more than 150 years, since before Mark Twain. Anyone arguing that it now has to be abandoned to the sea is (gasp) admitting that climate change is real.

[fraserkr]

jump in and help our neighbors

[after55]

Poverty is big business for the Liberals. Ever heard of Section 8 housing? Many people make a lot of money off of it! New Orleans will be rebuilt with Federal funds, the poor will return never knowing they are helping pad the pockets of some wealthy liberals!

[vnveteran72]

Mr. Bush called New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin this morning, letting him know that he was "checking in and getting ready to go through this with him again."

Shrub: "Nagy"??...."Yea, I''ll have Brownie take care of stuff, just like last time".....This Hurricination won''t be allowed to windify your town again in soakifying wettification"......

Nagin: ....*(sounds of sobbing)*....

[antoniof123]

New Orleans should be thankful they at least have a Republican governor this time instead of Blanco.

Posted by HawkSprings at 10:40 AM : Aug 31, 2008

This is an example of why the GOP lost power it is aways party befor country with them it was in the 50''s with McCarthy the drunk and it continues with his legacy.

[hawksprings]

"Building a city 12 FEET below sea level is stupidity at it''''s finest"
Posted by newster1

I think it''s more like 17 feet below sea level.

[calia386]

As quoted "Anybody who is on the street after the curfew kicks in will be arrested," Nagin said.

I was just wondering if everyone needs to evacuate and it is really that dangerous of a storm, who''s crazy enough to hang around just to arrest potential looters???

[jabailo]

Before this storm hit, I was discussing matters with the Assistant Director of Planning here in my home town and he mentioned that the Bush Administration have declared all areas within ***** and levees to be potential disaster areas and require mandatory flood insurance. This, to me, is the best thing that anyone could have done for most citizens of New Orleans. If you want to live in NO, fine, but the cost of that perk should be appropriately high...high rents, high mortgages, high housing costs, high taxes and so on. In effect, NO is a place for crazy rich people, not the average Joe and certainly not the working poor. These folks had 4 years to get out and find a better, safer place to live...if there''s still there, it''s costing us a ton of money to evacuate them every time there''s a storm. Let''s make it hard for those who really shouldn''t be there to live there, there are plenty of cheap areas with jobs in places like Omaha and Indianapolis.

[slim1h2o]

"Building a city 12 FEET below sea level is stupidity at it''''''''s finest"
Posted by newster1

I think it''''s more like 17 feet below sea level.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by HawkSprings at 01:45 PM : Aug 31, 2008

The city is sinking. When N.O. was 1st built, it wasn''t that far below sea level. In fact, the downtown, and french quarter areas are not that low either. As we speak.

With that said, we should allow all areas that are 12- 17 ft below sea level, to go back to being wetlands. Lets downsize N.O. We''ll be better off doing so.

[underdogus87]

BUSH:Anybody who''s caught looting in the city of New Orleans will go directly to Angola [Louisiana State Penitentiary]. You will not have a temporary stay in the city. You go directly to the big house, in general population," he said.

[irliberal]

New Orleans was a big, thriving city for more than 150 years, since before Mark Twain. Anyone arguing that it now has to be abandoned to the sea is (gasp) admitting that climate change is real.

Posted by alan7388 at 01:03 PM

No, they''ll never admit that. Logic, facts, figures mean nothing to that kind of deliberate ignorance.

[arcomcbride]

isn''t it time we ask the Dutch how they do it? 12 feet below see level , they know how that feels.

[pensacola98]

In Pensacola, skies are cloudy and wind is causing some high-voltage power lines to "slap" and make contact, causing brownouts. Also, insects are being observed to fly and land in unprotected places making them vulnerable to their predators. Many frogs are croaking and crickets are buzzing in the daytime...something unusual, since they usually do this at night. It is sign that animal behavior can predict some weather phenomena.

[noboundary]

A couple of things:

1) The Dutch don''t have to deal with Gustav-level hurricanes.

2) NO is built on river sediment which is no where near fully consolidated, so over time NO keeps dropping further below sea level - not a pleasant prospect.

[slim1h2o]

Lookout folks, we have Hanna coming too.

Tis the season!!

[buckeye_qt]

Seriously... anyone who has lived in NO knows what can happen when a hurricane threatens the city and surrounding areas like this. Can''t believe anyone is staying. Oh, and Bush didn''t say looters would go straight to prison. Nagan did. Should get it right... Complain about Bush if you want, but make sure you have the facts straight when you do!

[andor3]

what?! abandon NO? sounds like cut-and-run!