I beg to differ, Biloxi where we were took a direct hit from Camille and other than the catrostropic damage to some buildings, the majority of it survived. Same with Gulfport which was closer to the eye.
The focus is on NO simply because this storm may breach the Lake Pontchartrain levy, that's a huge risk to people drowning because there is no way out. Think downtown tsunami and you get the picture.
The eye is 40 miles across now.