As dawn broke Sunday over New Orleans, bumper-to-bumper traffic was reported in nearly every direction as residents heeded orders to flee an only partially rebuilt city.

Police and National Guard troops were on the streets preparing to patrol evacuated neighborhoods. Officials nervously watched the track of Hurricane Gustav, a Category 3 monster that threatens a city still recovering nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina.

The city of New Orleans imposed a dawn-to-dusk curfew that was to begin Sunday at sunset ahead of Hurricane Gustav. The last bus carrying residents to safety was to leave at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Gustav had weakened from a Category 4 hurricane, while crossing western Cuba on Saturday but was expected to strengthen in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The storm had picked up speed and was moving northwest at 16 mph with winds of 120 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. EDT advisory on Sunday, Aug. 31. Gustav’s center was about 375 miles southeast of the Mississippi River’s mouth and forcasters predict it could make landfall as early as Monday morning.

For more on preparing your farm for disaster, search “Disaster Preparation” on TheHorse.com. You can also read Prepare Plans and Farms for Hurricane Season previously on TheHorse.com