The mayor of New Orleans has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the entire city, as Hurricane Gustav bears down on
the US Gulf Coast.
Ray Nagin said residents of the city's West Bank should begin moving out at 0800 (1300 GMT) on Sunday, with the East
Bank leaving at midday (1700 GMT).
He called it "the storm of the century" and added: "You need to be scared".
Gustav, which is forecast to strengthen to a Category 5 storm over the Gulf, powered through western Cuba overnight.
Gustav ploughed through Cuba's Isla Juventud, or Isle of Youth, overnight on Saturday before hitting the mainland in
Pinar del Rio province, home to Cuba's lucrative tobacco plantations.
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