Rain, tornado threat lingers as Gustav fades
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) — Officials warned Gulf Coast evacuees not to return home Tuesday to assess the damage from Hurricane Gustav, but it appeared that southern Louisiana’s levees had passed their first test since Hurricane Katrina.
Two million people fled Gustav’s advance under mandatory evacuation orders and with memories still fresh of Katrina, which flooded New Orleans and killed more than 1,800 people in 2005.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin told evacuees on Tuesday morning to “hold tight for today.”
“We have over 50 percent of our citizens without power. Our sewer system is damaged and not operational. And our hospitals are still with skeletal crews. So we’ll repair most of that today and tomorrow and start the process for re-entry thereafter,” Nagin told CNN’s “American Morning.”