Emergency Declared as Gustav Swirls Towards Gulf

Darryel Terrance, a Ninth Ward resident, is rebuilding his home by hand. Like so many in New Orleans, he does not put his faith in the Corps of Engineers.

(ABC)

"I wouldn't trust the levees," Terrance said. "The government let us down before, I definitely wouldn't stay no more."

But the U.S. Corps of Engineers maintains that the system is different now than then.

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"Well, you know, I am not prepared to say what level of storm we can protect against. The system is stronger today than pre Katrina," said Col. Jeff Bedey.

In the Gulf of Mexico, offshore oil rigs are being evacuated and the price of crude is soaring as the jittery market worries about Gustav's path.

If a mandatory evacuation is put in effect residents are supposed to leave the city at least two days before projected landfall, which means people could be pouring out of the Big Easy as early as this weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.