Fear Factor: Is NOLA Ready for Katrina Part 2?
Nervous Residents Cite Levees as Greatest Anxiety; Experts Say Fears May Be Well-Founded as Gustav Approaches
The hotel is charging $139.99 a night, $10 higher than normal because of the holiday weekend. On Tuesday, the rate falls to $94.99.
"Wish us luck dealing these people," Johnese said. "I know they are going to be irate, tired and we're just going to have to drink a lot when we get off work."
Another 200 miles up the road in Little Rock, Seth Rolfe is seeing reservations flow in at the front desk of the Hilton Little Rock Metro Center.
"We still do have availability," Rolfe said, but "occupancy jumped about 60 percent starting Sunday through Thursday."
Most of the reservations are for five days.
"They can cancel 24 hours in advance," Rolfe said. "This thing can turn a different way and it's all over with. We're not banking on it yet."
It's a similar story in Memphis, about a 400-mile drive north of New Orleans.
At the Marriott downtown, all 604 guest rooms are sold out. A reservation agent said people are booking rooms for seven to 10 days, and some people are booking blocks of 10 to 15 rooms at a time.
New Orleans Nerves
Despite promises from the state government and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that Katrina's sordid aftermath won't be repeated, New Orleans residents of all stripes are nervous, and experts say they have every right to be.
One indication of how seriously everyone is taking the storm is that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is already in New Orleans, where this morning he told "Good Morning America" that he plans to survey the infamous Industrial Canal and the 17th Street Canal pumping station.
"What you'll see is the product of three years of planning, training and exercising it at all levels of government," Chertoff told "GMA." "We're clearly better prepared."
For forecasters and frightened locals alike, the comparison between Katrina and Gustav was immediate. Both storms are moving more slowly than is typical, and like Katrina before it, Gustav is expected to move over a warm patch of air in the Gulf of Mexico that will likely take it from Category 1 (rough) to Category 3 (devastating).
"All the models are suggesting that this thing is going to accelerate as it's nearing the Gulf of Mexico. ... Right now, Gustav is not a large storm, but that could change by the way," said Louisiana state climatologist Barry Keim. "All people concerned are keeping an eye on it."
The hurricane is expected to make landfall somewhere on the Gulf Coast on Tuesday.
But it's not just the meteorological similarities; the timing of the storm doesn't ease residents' minds either. Today is the third anniversary of the day the mighty hurricane left this Southern city destroyed, and organizers are scrambling to put the finishing touches on a memorial to its victims.
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