The Gulf Coast is bracing for Hurricane Gustav after the storm lashed the Caribbean, but the preparations look like night and day compared to preparations for Hurricane Katrina three years ago: About two million residents have left or will leave before landfall, expected at about noon Monday (local time). USA Today has a comprehensive story:

“Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff also was en route to the New Orleans area Sunday.


‘I do want to emphasize the window is closing. Once you get tropical storm-force winds, there’s no more evacuation,’ he said at Andrews Air Force base near Washington. He said the combination of heavy rain and wind from the southwest could cause water to run over the top of New Orleans’ levees — even if they hold.


…Most of the city was empty by mid-day. New Orleans police patrolled throughout, often with blue lights flashing. Police and National Guard soldiers stood guard outside boarded-up businesses.


Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, said he was sending dozens of school buses to the Gulf Coast to speed evacuation efforts. Mandatory evacuation orders were in effect for Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties.


The evacuation orders target people living in FEMA trailers and mobile homes, flood zones and Mississippi cottages, which are temporary housing units provided by the state after Katrina.”

The key figures people will be watching as the storm rolls through are Mayor Ray Nagin — highly criticized after Katrina, but re-elected — and Gov. Bobby Jindal, who replaced the embattled Katrina-era Kathleen Blanco and whose Web site tonight is a veritable portal for information on the storm and emergency preparations. Said Jindal at his afternoon press conference:

“If the storm track remains perfectly on course as predicted by the Hurricane Center, it could slow down and lose half of its power as it moves through Louisiana in the first 12 hours, which means we will see up to around 10 inches of rain even in central Louisiana.”

Jindal also provided details on evacuations, National Guard deployment, sheltering individuals with special needs, etc.

CNN has info on how Gustav has changed the agenda at this week’s GOP convention.

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)