The story

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city beginning 8 a.m. Sunday but urged residents to consider escaping "the mother of all storms" before then.

"You need to be scared," Nagin said of the Category 4 hurricane tearing along Cuba's western coast. "You need to be concerned, and you need to get your butts moving out of New Orleans right now. This is the storm of the century."

The city's west bank is to evacuate at 8 a.m. Read full article »

CNN's Chris Lawrence and Sean Callebs contributed to this report.

All About National Hurricane CenterHurricane KatrinaNatural DisastersNew OrleansMississippi

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