The New Nation - Internet Edition

BBC Online

Cities and towns on the southern US coast are bracing themselves for the arrival of Hurricane Gustav.

Authorities have ordered the evacuation of New Orleans, and an estimated 1.9 million people along the Gulf coast have been heading inland.

Some areas are already being lashed by storm winds and heavy rain, while the eye of Category Three storm is reported to be less than 20 miles from landfall.

Gustav has prompted the Republicans to scale back their national convention.

Senator John McCain is due to accept the party's nomination for president at the event in St Paul, Minnesota later this week.

Hurricane Gustav is the same strength as Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city of New Orleans three years ago.

At 1100 GMT on Monday, the eye of Gustav was about 20 miles (35km) south-east of the Louisiana coast.

Forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center warned that Gustav's winds were at speeds of 115 mph (185km/h) and could bring "extremely dangerous" storm surges 14ft (4.2m) above normal. Isolated tornadoes are also possible in the area.

Meteorologist Trisha Wallace said the coast was experiencing hurricane-strength winds and New Orleans was getting tropical storm force winds. She said the winds would get stronger as the storm continued on its path and made landfall.

The storm has already claimed the lives of more than 80 people in the Caribbean, causing widespread damage in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica over the past week. In Cuba, the storm brought extensive flooding and some severe damage, but no reports of deaths.

In New Orleans, a dusk-to-dawn curfew is in force across the city, which is described as being like a ghost town. The 7,000-strong Louisiana National Guard has been mobilised and support requested from other states.

Crime was a major problem in the New Orleans area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the city three years ago, causing disastrous floods. The New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin, has warned looters will be sent to jail.

The exodus of an estimated 1.9 million people from the Louisiana coast is said to be the largest evacuation in state history. Tens of thousands are also reported to have left coastal Mississippi, Alabama and south-eastern Texas.