NEW ORLEANS, La. - Faced with a nightmare scenario of floodwaters that could drown this below-sea-level city, thousands of evacuees jammed highways Tuesday in an agonizingly slow escape from 140-mph Hurricane Ivan as it bore down on four Gulf Coast states.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic flowed out of this city of 1.5 million amid a state of emergency and dire warnings that an Ivan-sized storm could could essentially overflow Lake Pontchartrain, overwhelming this saucer-shaped city with up to 20 feet of water.
Forecasters say Ivan, a killer blamed for at least 68 deaths in the Caribbean, could strengthen back to Category 5, 160-mph power by the time the massive storm makes landfall as early as Thursday.
With hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph across an area nearly 200 miles wide, it threatened significant damage no matter where it strikes. That prompted officials to order or strongly urge people to flee in a danger zone stretching from Morgan City and New Orleans in Louisiana to St. Marks in the Florida Panhandle.
"I beg people on the coast: Do not ride this storm out," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said, urging people in other parts of the state to open their homes to relatives, friends and co-workers.
New Orleans, the nation's largest city below sea level, also may be its most vulnerable in a hurricane, and Mayor Ray Nagin was among the first to urge residents to get out while they can. The city's Louis Armstrong Airport was ordered closed Tuesday night.
Up to 10 feet below sea level in spots, it sits between the nearly half-mile-wide Mississippi River and the Rhode Island-sized Pontchartrain, relying on a system of levees, canals and huge pumps to keep dry.
The city hasn't taken a major direct hit since Betsy in 1965, when an 8- to 10-foot storm surge submerged some parts of the city in 7 feet of water.
But experts say Ivan could be worse, sending water pouring over the levees, flooding to the rooftops and turning streets into a toxic mixing bowl of raw sewage, gas and chemicals from nearby refineries.
By midday Tuesday, Interstate 10, the major hurricane route out of New Orleans, was bumper-to-bumper, and state police turned the interstate west of the city into a one-way artery out. U.S. Highway 59, the old major route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, also was jammed.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic flowed out of this city of 1.5 million amid a state of emergency and dire warnings that an Ivan-sized storm could could essentially overflow Lake Pontchartrain, overwhelming this saucer-shaped city with up to 20 feet of water.
Forecasters say Ivan, a killer blamed for at least 68 deaths in the Caribbean, could strengthen back to Category 5, 160-mph power by the time the massive storm makes landfall as early as Thursday.
With hurricane-force winds of at least 74 mph across an area nearly 200 miles wide, it threatened significant damage no matter where it strikes. That prompted officials to order or strongly urge people to flee in a danger zone stretching from Morgan City and New Orleans in Louisiana to St. Marks in the Florida Panhandle.
"I beg people on the coast: Do not ride this storm out," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said, urging people in other parts of the state to open their homes to relatives, friends and co-workers.
New Orleans, the nation's largest city below sea level, also may be its most vulnerable in a hurricane, and Mayor Ray Nagin was among the first to urge residents to get out while they can. The city's Louis Armstrong Airport was ordered closed Tuesday night.
Up to 10 feet below sea level in spots, it sits between the nearly half-mile-wide Mississippi River and the Rhode Island-sized Pontchartrain, relying on a system of levees, canals and huge pumps to keep dry.
The city hasn't taken a major direct hit since Betsy in 1965, when an 8- to 10-foot storm surge submerged some parts of the city in 7 feet of water.
But experts say Ivan could be worse, sending water pouring over the levees, flooding to the rooftops and turning streets into a toxic mixing bowl of raw sewage, gas and chemicals from nearby refineries.
By midday Tuesday, Interstate 10, the major hurricane route out of New Orleans, was bumper-to-bumper, and state police turned the interstate west of the city into a one-way artery out. U.S. Highway 59, the old major route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, also was jammed.
Big hugs and kisses to both of you!!
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