NEW ORLEANS, Aug 28: Authorities ordered a massive evacuation of New Orleans on Sunday amid fears of a catastrophic hit by Hurricane Katrina, which barrelled toward the low-lying southern US city with winds of 280 kilometres.

“We are facing the storm that most of us have feared,” said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin as he ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city. “I do not want to create panic. But I do want the citizens to understand that this is very serious and it’s of the highest nature,” he said.

Katrina, which looked set to make landfall on Monday, has reached a rare and ‘potentially catastrophic’ category five, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale, the National Hurricane Center said.

It only ranked at category one when it slammed ashore on Thursday in southern Florida, where it killed seven people before heading out to the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.

“We need to pray, of course, very strongly, that the hurricane force would diminish,” said Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco.—AFP