Sebring Natives Worry About New Orleans Homes

Two friends from Sebring were among thousands rushing out of the Big Easy as Hurricane Gustav approached Louisiana.

Caitlin Harris and Amanda Hogue ditched their homes and most of their belongings as they hustled out of New Orleans Friday, and now are playing it safe with their parents in Sebring.

Both worry if they'll even be allowed back into New Orleans if Gustav makes its expected landfall sometime today.

"I left so much behind," Harris said. "I never prepared to leave a hurricane of this magnitude before... my clothes, my TV, everything's still in New Orleans."

Both Harris and Hogue went to Sebring High School together, then they went to different universities before finding each other in Loyola University's law school in New Orleans. Even though both of them were in Sebring for Hurricane Charley in 2004, neither one of the students had to escape from a serious tropical storm before Gustav.

Hogue drove out of New Orleans Friday morning with an SUV, so she said she was able to take more of her stuff with her. Everything she left behind, she tried to lift off the floor in case it floods.

"I'm trying to be as optimistic about it as possible," Hogue said. "It (her home) didn't flood during Katrina; It's four feet off the ground. I'm more concerned about the roof getting ripped off."

Hogue beat the traffic as she left Friday morning, just as she saw the National Guard moving into the city. Harris found herself taking more than an hour to drive to an airport that normally would be only 20 minutes away. Most of the flights to Florida were already booked, she said.

Harris's second-story condo in uptown New Orleans was also safe from flooding, but along with the wind, she was worried about looters.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation late Saturday, the day after the two left.

Gustav's wide bands reached Florida Saturday and Sunday, dumping up to 2 inches of rain over the weekend in the southern half of Highlands County, the National Weather Service reported. Winds were only 8 mph, with gusts of 15 mph reported in Sebring. The rain chances should diminish today.