"The storm surge most likely will top our levee system," Nagin said.

Katrina could

inundate New

Orleans
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Evacuation ordered; 175 mph winds, 28-foot tidal surge possible

Position of center: 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River

Latitude: 26.5 north

Longitude: 88.6 west

Top sustained winds: near 175 mph (281 kph)

Source: National Hurricane Center

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Emergency officials in New Orleans braced for a potentially catastrophic blow on Sunday as Hurricane Katrina swept toward the Gulf Coast -- and the city -- with maximum sustained winds near 175 mph.

Mayor Ray Nagin declared a state of emergency on Sunday and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city the Category 5 storm approached.

Forecasters said the storm surge could reach 28 feet.

"We are facing a storm that most of us have feared," Nagin said. "I do not want to create panic, but I do want the citizens to understand that this is very serious and it's of the highest nature. About 70 percent of New Orleans is below sea level, and is protected by a series of levies.

"The storm surge most likely will top our levee system," Nagin said.

About 485,000 people live in the city, and many began evacuating before sunrise.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said that westbound traffic was heavy and that the state police was urging people to travel to the north or east. Nagin said the city could expect complete loss of electricity and water services once the storm had done its work and that the Superdome, the city's main shelter, "is not going to be a very comfortable place at some point in time."

He said people who must stay in the shelter should bring enough food, water and supplies to last several days.

Federal Emergency Management Agency teams and other emergency teams were in place to move in as soon as the storm was over, FEMA Undersecretary Michael Brown said.

Katrina is blamed for at least seven deaths in Florida, where it made landfall Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane. As much as 18 inches of rain fell in some areas, flooding streets and homes.

At 2 p.m. ET, Katrina was centered about 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was moving to the west-northwest at about 13 mph.

NHC forecaster Ed Rappaport said Katrina's strength could fluctuate before it reaches shore but noted the difference between a high Category 4 and a low Category 5 was practically inconsequential.

"There will be extensive to potentially catastrophic damage to many structures ... and inland," he said. "We'll have a lot of trees that are going to come down, perhaps millions of trees. But the first threat is going to be the storm surge. You must get away from the coast now."

CNN meteorologist Brad Huffines said the Katrina would come ashore "sometime between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m." Monday.

Bush issues disaster declarations

Rappaport cautioned that New Orleans was not the only area threatened -- the storm's hurricane winds spread out as far as 100 miles. As far east as Mobile, Alabama, forecasters warned of storm surges reaching 8 to 10 feet.

"I'm afraid most people look at the map and say, 'It's going to New Orleans, we're all right,'" said Mobile Mayor Mike Deal. "We're in harm's way with the current path of this storm."

"This is not a joke," Walt Dickerson, director of the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency, said.

"This is for real."

President Bush announced Sunday that he had issued disaster declarations for Louisiana and Mississippi.

The president urged anyone in the storm's path "to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground."

Hurricane warnings were posted from Morgan City, Louisiana, eastward to the Alabama-Florida state line, including New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions, including winds of at least 74 mph, are expected in the warning area within the next 24 hours.

A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch were issued from the Alabama-Florida state line eastward to Destin, Florida, and from west of Morgan City to Intracoastal City, Louisiana. Another tropical storm warning was issued Sunday from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, west to Cameron, Louisiana, and from Destin, Florida, eastward to Indian Pass, Florida.

A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions, including winds of at least 39 mph, are expected within 24 hours. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible, usually within 36 hours.

Category 5 is the highest category on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. Only three Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States since records were kept. Those were the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, 1969's Hurricane Camille and Hurricane Andrew, which devastated the Miami area in 1992. Andrew remains the costliest U.S. hurricane on record, with $26.5 billion in losses.

Camille came ashore in Mississippi and killed 256 people.