New Orleans is below sea level." Katrina was 180 miles (292 km) south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and heading northwest at 13 mph (21 kph). Hurricane force winds could be felt 105 miles (170 km) out from the center. The hurricane center warned of destructive winds along the Gulf Coast from the Florida-Alabama border, through Mississippi and west to Morgan City in Louisiana, and said Katrina could bring up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain. Its track would it it through key U.S. oil and gas areas in the Gulf of Mexico, and Katrina seemed likely to affect already sky-high gasoline prices. Oil rigs were evacuated. The last Category 5 to strike the area was Hurricane Camille in 1969. Camille, which registered a minimum pressure of 909 millibars at landfall, just missed New Orleans but devastated Louisiana and Alabama, killing hundreds. Hurricane Andrew, which destroyed the city of Homestead south of Miami in 1992 and ranks as the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, was also a Category 5. Its central pressure was 922 millibars. --More 2234 Local Time 1934 GMT
