New Orleans Braces for Katrina

Hurricane Katrina made landfall early Monday in southeast Louisiana as New Orleans braced for a possible catastrophic blow.

The powerful Category 4 storm, packing 150 mph winds, could drive a wall of water over the city’s levees, forecasters predicted.

At 5 a.m. ET, Katrina was centered about 90 miles south-southeast of New Orleans, moving to the north at about 15 mph. Hurricane-force winds were being felt early Monday in some parts of the state.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami warned the coastal storm surge could causes flooding of 18 to 22 feet above normal tide levels, locally as high as 28 feet.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin estimated nearly 1 million people had left the city while others were housed in hotels and the Louisiana Superdome.