Unlike most of his neighbors, New Orleans resident Larry Denny isn't worried enough about Hurricane Gustav to leave.
Never mind that his house flooded during Hurricane Katrina, the stress cracks in his roof have yet to be fixed and he and his wife felt it was necessary to get two guard dogs and an armory of weapons to ward off looters that roamed their street back in 2005.
Denny says that there is "no way" he and his wife Charlotte will evacuate New Orleans.
"Why do we stay?" asked Denny, who was raised in Louisiana and returned to New Orleans 15 years ago to settle in Orleans Parish, just north of the French Quarter. "Because we know the government won't protect our house, so we have to."
As of early Sunday morning, the National Hurricane Center reported that Gustav had weakened slightly overnight from a Category 4 hurricane to a Category 3, and had sustained wins of 120 mph. The hurricane is predicted to regain strength as it moves north Sunday.
"I won't be coming back to a shell," said Denny, who added that just like he rode out Katrina he'll do it again for Gustav, which is predicted to make landfall on the northern Gulf Coast on Monday at its current clip of 16 mph.
In a press conference Saturday evening, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin had strong words for his citizens who might be too stubborn to evacuate despite warnings and, as of early Sunday morning, mandatory evacuation orders.
"This is going to be the storm of the century," said Nagin, admitting that while he's usually "very calm," this time is different.
"You need to be scared," said Nagin. "This is the mother of all storms, and I'm not sure we've seen anything like this."
In the surrounding states, evacuations are also under way. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley declared a mandatory evacuation for much of the state, and areas of Mississippi and Texas were also preparing to move people north in anticipation of the storm.
Contraflow is in effect in both Louisiana and Mississippi to help last-minute stragglers drive north.
According to Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office, the state was preparing to house the overflow of Louisianans as they head north. Perry estimates that as many as 45,000 evacuees may seek shelter in Texas, many of whom the state plans to fly to northern cities such as San Antonio and Dallas/Fort Worth.
Mayor, Residents Doubt Readiness of City, Levees
As the National Hurricane Center predicts Gustav will bring water surges between 18 and 25 feet, Nagin did not hesitate to cast doubt in the mind of citizens who might think the city's levees, which have been under construction since they failed during Katrina, would ward off the hurricane.
According to Nagin, the levees simply won't be tall enough.
"This is the real deal," said Nagin. "The levees [in the city of New Orleans] are probably 8 to 10 feet high."
But for Denny's wife Charlotte, excuses about the levees readiness are not good enough.
Jeffrey Vannor carries his belongings while evacuating from the approaching Hurricane Gustav at the Greyhound Bus and Amtrak station in New Orleans, on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008. A million people took to Gulf Coast highways Saturday, boarding up homes and businesses and fleeing dangerous Hurricane Gustav by bus and automobile as the season's most powerful Atlantic storm took aim at Louisiana.
"If those levees don't hold, it will be the end [for New Orleans]," said Charlotte. "We are hanging on by our fingernails."
"I went to Hoover Dam and I didn't see any leaks; why should our levees be leaking?" said Denny. "It's terrifying."
The predicted wind speeds, said Nagin, are yet another aspect of the storm that he says the city simply cannot beat.
"There is not a building in this city rated above 150 mph [in wind resistance]," said Nagin.
In the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the areas hit the hardest during Katrina, most residents had already fled town -- not willing to take the same risk at the Denny family and others like them who were determined to stay for the storm.
The Lower Ninth Ward seemed like a ghost town, other than a few stragglers still packing cars -- and one man simply walking down the street crying and screaming, "Why are you doing this to me?" It was clear that the area was listening to Nagin's warnings.
But most of the people ABCNews.com spoke to had all lived in the area during Katrina, and said they never thought twice about returning in its aftermath.
Ernest Williams, whose house was nearly destroyed during Katrina, said that he loves New Orleans too much to abandon it for good.
"There is no place like New Orleans," said Williams, as he secured the last of his most valued possessions into a pick up truck before driving out of town.
"But yes, I'm scared," added Williams, who said it was hard to understand why the city could not guarantee the levees' strength.
"Millions have been pumped in to those levees -- something has to hold, right?" said Williams.
So far the mayor estimates that between 9,000 and 10,000 residents were moved out of the city on buses Saturday, and will continue to be evacuated through Sunday. Local highways will also all head north and out of the city Sunday.
After 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nagin warns residents: "You're on your own."
But for the Dennys -- alone doesn't sound too bad.
Sitting on his front porch with their two dogs -- Trooper and Bullet -- a pistol in his back pocket and a cabinet of loaded M-16 rifles in his bedroom, Larry Denny said he's too distrustful of the government, the levees and the New Orleans Police Department to abandon his house.
"They don't dare do what they did to us during Katrina again," said Denny, who said he'll "never stop being angry" about how Katrina's aftermath was botched by the city and the federal government.
"How can we trust them?" he said.
"I'm staying."
[Thanks: http://www.abcnews.go.com]
