US: Hundreds of thousands of people along the US coast from New Orleans to north-west Florida were told to leave their homes yesterday as Hurricane Ivan headed into the Gulf of Mexico after grazing western Cuba writes John Moran in New Orleans.
Mayor Ray Nagin yesterday declared a state of emergency in New Orleans and recommended an evacuation of the city as the hurricane began its turn towards the Louisiana coast.
While some battened down the hatches and hoped to weather the storm, which is not expected to hit until later today or early tomorrow, thousands took to the highways heading north-west into Texas to escape the potential devastation of a force four storm, with winds of more than 240 kilometres per hour.
The Florida authorities, preparing for a possible third hurricane strike in just over a month, told about 543,000 people to evacuate mobile homes and flood-prone coastal areas in at least 10 counties in the western panhandle.
Oil companies plucked thousands of workers from offshore rigs and shut down some production in the Gulf of Mexico, home to about a quarter of US oil and gas output.
All schools and universities in New Orleans closed yesterday and non-essential public offices closed as families prepared for the worst.
The city is particularly vulnerable to hurricane impact as much of its coastline is beneath sea level. A force four hurricane would be devastating to Louisiana, as the system of locks and levees would be unable to withstand such an impact.
Already Ivan has left a trail of death and destruction throughout the Caribbean, with 68 recorded deaths so far and widespread devastation, particularly on the island of Grenada.
Meanwhile, the mandatory evacuation of outline areas of New Orleans has begun, with Mayor Nagin holding off any decision on a complete mandatory evacuation of the city until the "cone of uncertainty", the 160km-wide area of impact, can be better assessed.
According to Mr Nagin, the priorities are first to secure the ongoing treatment for seriously ill patients in hospitals and for people on dialysis machines.
The next objective, he says, is to locate secure shelters for the homeless, and finally there is the task of a preparing for a mandatory evacuation of the city, which would cause horrendous logistic problems, given that there are more than 100,000 citizens who rely on public transport.
The big fear here is that "the cone of uncertainty" will shift today to the west, bringing with it the eye of hurricane Ivan.
Ironically one of first the victims of Ivan in the city has been a convention on safety. Its 10,000 delegates have already begun their trek home to other parts of the United States.
As Ivan comes closer, the streets of the French Quarter are like a ghost town, with many shops and bars boarded up.