EXODUS FROM NEW ORLEANS AS GUSTAV GETS CLOSER

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By James Politi in Washington, Javier Blas in London and Sheila McNulty in Houston 2008-09-01
Hurricane Gustav swept across the Gulf of Mexico yesterday, forcing the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, the shutdown of offshore oil production and a rethink of plans for the Republican party's national convention, which is scheduled to begin today.

Thousands of New Orleans residents jammed highways yesterday as they headed out of the danger zone towards Baton Rouge, the Louisiana state capital, east to Mississippi and Alabama, and west to Texas.

The storm was expected to make landfall today on the Gulf Coast at the category four level, with winds racing at more than 150 miles per hour and a storm surge exceeding 20 feet.