PRESS RELEASE

City of New Orleans Begins Mandatory Evcautions
NEW ORLEANS, La. (August 31, 2008) – New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin has announced a mandatory evacuation for the City of New Orleans beginning today, Sunday, August 31, 2008. Mayor Nagin has ordered a mandatory evacuation on the West Bank of New Orleans beginning at 8 a.m. today. The mandatory evacuation is set to begin at noon on the East Bank.

More than 350 citizens were evacuated from the Union Passenger Terminal between midnight and 6 a.m. today. More than 10,000 people have been evacuated through the City Assisted Evacuation Plan.

The City Assisted Evacuation Plan will continue until noon today to provide transportation for citizens who cannot evacuate on their own. Those who need transportation should go to one of 17 designated pick-up sites. Residents who have special medical needs should call 311 or 1-866-205-6485 for assistance.

Citizens and tourists are urged to evacuate immediately. According to Mary Beth Romig of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors' Bureau, local hotels will heed the evacuation order and close. She further urged citizens to depart from the city.

Travelers who have airline reservations may board a shuttle at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown New Orleans. Travelers must have proof of a reservation in order to board.

The City has pared down its essential staff from 200 people to 50 people.

The New Orleans Police Department may also have some officers evacuate from the city. Most other city agencies are evacuating their entire staffs.

Mayor Nagin urged that the West Bank may be most severely impacted by the hurricane and storm surge. He reiterated that the area's storm protection system is not adequate to protect the New Orleans area in the face of the anticipated storm.

EXCEPTION TO MANDATORY EVACUATION
Essential personnel of the United States of America, State of Louisiana and City of New Orleans; essential personnel of regulated utilities and mass transportation services; essential personnel of hospitals and their patients; essential personnel of the media; essential personnel of the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff's Office and its inmates; essential personnel of the courts of the City of New Orleans and the Parish of New Orleans; and essential personnel of operating hotels and their patrons as authorized by the City's Emergency Operating Center and/or Unified Command.

Those persons who remain within the City of New Orleans do so at their own risk and are subject to arrest if they are outside the boundaries of their own property. No emergency services shall be provided by the City of New Orleans during this mandatory evacuation.

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