Semi-local perspective, here, as a former resident of that area, now in Columbia, SC.
The whole "New Orleans may not be there in the morning" talk is pretty accurate. Fox News has some of the best, most realistic (and realist) coverage, even moreso than the Weather Channel. We're talking about the gulf being pushed into the lakes, and then flowing over the levee system into the city, which is basically a bowl that lies 9 ft or so below sea level, surrounded by the Mississippi River, Lake Ponchartrain, and marshes, on all sides of the city.
Think of holding a cereal bowl floating in the sink. The bottom of the bowl (New Orleans) is below the waterline. The sides (levees) are above all of it. Now swipe your hand across, pushing water into the bowl. That's what the city will feel. This doesn't even factor in rainfall. 20 - 30 feet deep water across the entire city. The first three floors of all buildings will be underwater. N.O. will be turned into Venice.
The pumps that keep the water out of the city will fail, and we're talking about a city flooded for weeks on end while pumps are moved in to pump out the water, in order to get to the main pumps. Not to mention the disease from stagnant water, wild animals (rats, raccoons, poisonous snakes), raw sewage, multiple petrochemical plants and their runoff. The above-ground masoleums will flood, and many many bodies in various stages of decomposition will float through (or, more accurately, above) the streets. Mosquitoes, already so devastating in LA, will become even moreso.
There are predictions of 60% of N.O. housing will be destroyed solely from the winds, not even accounting for the water. This isn't an overexxageration. New Orleans is simply not able to sustain this type of weather. There is almost no way that anyone left in the city, that is not in a shelter or a very sturdy structure, will survive.
I'll leave you with news bulletin from the National Weather Service (underlines mine)
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW
CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE
KILLED.
There have been three storms that have frightened me in 22 years...
Andrew, Mitch (even though it hit Honduras or somesuch), and this one.
