Update: Katrina may be our "Asian Tsunami." One other point: we need to stop destroying the Louisiana wetland which serves as a buffer. More on that here.

"While the many are concerned with how the hurricane will effect the price and production the oil and gas - we are also concerned about the people and the precious habitat that could be destroyed as Hurricane Katrina makes land fall." said Sidney Coffee, Executive Assistant to the Governor for Coastal Activities. "The country depends on the resources provided by coastal Louisiana - the cargo and shipping industries, and the millions of barrels of oil and gas that flow through the terminals and pipelines found throughout America's WETLAND," continued Coffee "A direct hit from a storm like Hurricane Katrina could be devastating, and this danger is increased by the continued loss of our wetlands."

Katrina will cut oil production in the gulf coast of Mexico area by one-third.

U.S. energy companies said U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude oil output was cut by more than one-third on Saturday as Hurricane Katrina appeared poised to charge through central production areas toward New Orleans. The Gulf of Mexico is home to roughly a quarter of U.S. domestic oil and gas output, with a capacity to produce about 1.5 million barrels per day of crude and 12.3 billion cubic feet per day of gas.

Accuweather says where Katrina crosses the coast, it will resemble a war zone:

Update 7pm: Experts predict New Orleans will turn into an Atlantis and more than 1 million people will be homeless.

When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans on Monday, it could turn one of America's most charming cities into a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released by floodwaters from the city's legendary cemeteries.

Crude oil prices have already shot up due to Katrina.

Crude oil soared to a record above $70 a barrel in New York after Hurricane Katrina forced companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. to shut operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

So far, there's no word about banning sex offenders from hurricane shelters as planned in Flordia.

Live local NOLA tv video coverage here. Also, as mentioned below, Truth Laid Bear has a Katrina blogging aggregator page. More links with webcams from New Orleans here. Newsblog is here. Also check out the NOLA Hurricane Center.

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Original Post 12:30 pm

This hurricane is serious. The eye is now less than 200 miles away. It may be a category five. Here is the projected path. The Mayor has ordered mandatory evacuation of the city.

Stay safe, New Orleans. Katrina is a now a category 3. Here's the Nola Hurricane guide. And a great song, Come On Sheila, with a Nola hurricane reference, by my favorite Louisiana artist, Zachary Richard, from the album Snake Bite Love. (very catchy audio clip here.)

I’ve been waiting here since this morning,
I’ll wait as long as it will take.
Down in the old town of the city of New Orleans,
With my heart so heavy it might break.

Last night they put up a hurricane warning,
Last night you came into my room.
Around midnight the rain started falling,
I was holding on to you.