New Orleans forces evacuation as Gustav chugs through the Gulf of Mexico

New Orleans

-- Veterinarians closed offices following the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans Aug. 30. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin set noon Aug. 31 as the evacuation deadline.New Orleans veterinarian Gary Levy, of Lakeview Veterinary Hospital, who lost his hospital during Katrina in 2005, wasn't taking any chances following the forced evacuation of Hurricane Gustav. His telephone message simply says, "We are closing at noon today because of Hurricane Gustav." The veterinarian referred clients to veterinary hospitals further inland.

The hurricane gathered momentum as it shot over Cuba, entering the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 31 as a Category 4 hurricane, packing some 145 mph winds, but then weakened to a Category 2 hurricane by early Sept. 1. The storm was scheduled to make landfall around noon on Sept. 1.

The National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning from east Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama east to the Florida state line.