You konw this is a bad storm when .....

You have the nightmare of Ray Nagin on the TV again. This time he is paraphrasing Sadam "Hussein" Hussein.

Nagin orders evacuation in face of 'mother of all storms'

by Leslie Williams, The Times-Picayune
Saturday August 30, 2008, 8:43 PM
Warning that Hurricane Gustav is the "mother of all storms," Mayor Ray Nagin late Saturday ordered a mandatory evacuation of the West Bank of New Orleans for 8 a.m. Sunday and the east bank for noon.

"We want 100 percent evacuation," Nagin said. "It has the potential to impact every area of this metropolitan area."

Katrina had a footprint of about 400 miles, he said. Gustav is about 900 miles and growing, Nagin said.

"This is worse than a Betsy, worse than a Katrina," he said.

Todd Kimberlain, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center, said he's not sure what Nagin meant by the storm's footprint. However, he said, "if he means the area of most severe impact, it's not a fair comparison at this point."

"It's not possible to calculate the area of most severe impact at this moment," Kimberlain said, "so we can't make a comparison."

The mayor speculated that Gustav is so fierce Baton Rouge likely will experience 100 mph winds.

"You need to be scared and you need to get your butts out of New Orleans right now," Nagin said.

Nagin said he expects Gustav to "punch holes in the Harvey Canal," which could cause the West Bank to become a bathtub.

The West Bank has 8-foot to 10-foot-high protection, he said. Gustav's storm surge may be 15 to 24 feet high.

Anyone who opts to remain in New Orleans "will be on your own," Nagin warned, adding that services will not be available.

Because of the potential severity of Gustav, Nagin said the city would continue to operate 17 bus pick-up sites in New Orleans until midnight Saturday. The service, designed to evacuate residents who lack transportation or need assistance, will resume Sunday at 6 a.m.and continue until at least noon.