NEW ORLEANS (AFP) — As killer Hurricane Gustav bears down on New Orleans its mayor ordered a sundown curfew and vowed Sunday to throw looters into prison.
More than a million people are fleeing Louisiana to escape the monster storm and an army of 2,000 National Guard officers has moved in to augment local police forces in the seven parishes (counties) in the New Orleans area.
"Looters will go directly to jail," New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin vowed at a Sunday morning press conference.
"You will not get a pass this time. Anyone caught looting in New Orleans will go directly to the Big House in the general population. You will go directly to Angola Prison and God bless you if you go there."
Tropical force winds are expected to hit New Orleans by Sunday night and Gustav could hit the Louisiana coast by midday Monday bringing tornadoes with it, forecasters say.
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