I have always worried about N.O., its people, and its historical significance. I saw a model earlier tonight which shows the hurricane making landfall near Biloxi which has had many hits in the past. Not to minimize the misery they may experience there, but they are better equipped, geograhically, to take the hit than N.O. (Evacuation capabilities, relative elevation, etc, Hopefully, people from both areas however will pay attention to this one, and just clear out of town ASAP. I was in a CAT 1 at one time; this is a CAT 3 or 4. No one wants to be there when it hits, believe me.
Even if you believe you are safe, it is not fun to be without electric for days, or to endure the flooding...
Saw a special on disasters on some cable channel. They said NO is the worst case scenario of all US cities for any storm above a cat 2.