Mandatory evacuation of City of New Orleans

Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, has ordered a mandatory evacuation of his city this Sunday morning.

The precaution is being taken in the wake of the expected arrival later today of Category 5 Hurricane Katrina.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event," the mayor said of the storm, which is packing winds of almost 175 miles per hour.

"The city of New Orleans has never seen a hurricane of this magnitude hit it directly," Nagin said.

The city of 485,000 is protected by levees from nearby marshes and the surrounding waters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River.

New Orleans has to pump out water even during dry times and authorities are concerned that the hurricane might knock out power to the pumps at the same time as the storm surge tops the levee.

Stranded tourists and others will be unable to leave the city, so authorities are planning emergency shelters at 10 locations including the Superdome.

Anyone planning to go there is being asked to take enough food and supplies to last three to five days.

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