Britons told to leave New Orleans

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Any Britons in New Orleans should heed the warnings of the city's mayor and leave before Hurricane Gustav strikes, British officials have said.

Paul Lynch, the British Consul-General in Houston, said the mayor had said no emergency services would be provided: "They should certainly be getting out".

He said the consulate would give any assistance needed, but there had been few calls so far.

He added the city was better prepared than it had been for Katrina in 2005.

The first storm winds could hit New Orleans as early as daybreak on Monday and the hurricane could reach Category Four strength.

New Orleans has been placed under curfew from sunset to dawn, and an evacuation has been ordered. There are 17 evacuation centres set up to house people leaving the city.

"The authorities are much better organised this time, they recognise what they need to do," Mr Lynch said.

"The evacuation seems to be going quite well. We had the list of evacuation centres and we're heading out to today to find out if there are any UK nationals.

We're all very prepared here, it's the old adage - prepare for the worst, hope for the best James Lewis <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7590700.stm">Staying put as Gustav bears down</a>

"We will find out how many people are there and what kind of assistance they need, whether that's financial - the situation should be OK with food and drink - or whether it's contacting people back in the UK."

But Mr Lynch said he expected to find that most British citizens will already have left the city.

One of them is 25-year-old Warwick University chemistry student, Martin Levere.

Mr Levere, who lives in Coventry, said he only just managed to get on a plane - at two hours' notice - ahead of New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin's mandatory evacuation order.

"On the way out to the airport we saw many tourists preparing to abandon the city," he said.

"I was glad I was leaving when I was and hadn't chosen to wait until things got really competitive."

'We're not idiots'

But some other Britons have decided to ignore the order to leave and sit the hurricane out.

James Lewis, 38, originally from London, is landlord of the Crown and Anchor English pub in New Orleans. He says he is determined not to see a repeat of the looting that destroyed his business after hurricane Katrina.

There are people in the world who live every day without electricity Aileen Bennett

"We're all very prepared here, it's the old adage - prepare for the worst, hope for the best. We're not a bunch of idiots staying here," he said.

"I just have a lot of friends here in the neighbourhood who are staying and the pub is a community centre for the neighbourhood."

Another Briton who has decided to stay is Aileen Bennett, 43, also originally from London. She says she and her husband Sean are focusing on what they have, not on what they might lose.

"There are people in the world who live every day without electricity, air conditioning, endless supplies of food and shelter," she said.

The Foreign Office said British nationals in the region should monitor local television and radio and follow the advice of local authorities.

It said any questions on evacuation issues should be directed to the City of New Orleans 311 Call Centre (dial 311 from inside New Orleans).