Nearly two million flee Hurricane Gustav

By Tim Gaynor and Matthew Bigg

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Nearly two million people fled the Louisiana coast on Sunday as Hurricane Gustav moved within hours of striking land, possibly with a weaker punch than 2005's devastating Hurricane Katrina.

The oil industry from Texas to New Orleans was taking no chances either, shutting down nearly all offshore platforms and many refineries as Gustav threatened the region that pumps a quarter of the U.S. oil supply.

Gustav also took center stage in U.S. presidential politics as Republican candidate John McCain curtailed activities for Monday's opening day of the convention that will formally nominate him to face Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the November election.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said an estimated 1.9 million people had fled coastal areas and only 10,000 people were believed to have stayed behind in New Orleans.

"This is still a very dangerous storm," Jindal said at a news conference. "It's not too late to evacuate. I strongly encourage you to do so."

Long lines of cars and buses streamed out of New Orleans after Mayor Ray Nagin ordered mandatory evacuation of the city of 239,000.

Forecasters projected Gustav would land west of New Orleans around midday on Monday. But it was no longer expected to be a Category 4 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.

The storm's top winds were expected to be around 125 mph, making it a Category 3 storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Nonetheless, a storm surge of up to 14 feet could threaten the same levees that failed three year ago during Hurricane Katrina. Federal officials say the levees protecting New Orleans are stronger now but still have gaps.

The storm evoked memories of Katrina which struck almost exactly three years ago, flooding 80 percent of the city, killing 1,500 people in five states and costing $80 billion.

Nagin warned anyone who defied evacuation orders they would face extreme danger, saying travel trailers that had housed some of those displaced by Katrina might "become projectiles" in the hurricane-force winds. He laid down a dusk-to-dawn curfew and told looters they would be sent straight to prison.

President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, accused of a slow and botched response to Katrina's chaos, said they would not attend this week's Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Instead, Bush will travel to Texas on Monday to oversee emergency response efforts.

Republican presidential candidate McCain headed to the Gulf to survey preparations and ordered political speeches canceled for the opening day of his nominating convention to avoid a festive atmosphere.

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By most accounts, evacuations from New Orleans and other coastal cities were proceeding smoothly although traffic was moving slowly on clogged highways. More than 11.5 million residents in five states could feel the impact of the storm.