I write from Morgan City, La., which Sunday night was dead on to get the eye of Hurricane Gustav. I wouldn't have it any other way. I have covered every major hurricane in the U.S. for almost 25 years.
My first trip to Morgan City was in 1992, for the second act of what was, until Katrina, the most costly hurricane in U.S. history: Andrew. You'll remember that storm hit the east coast of Florida at what turned out to be Category 5 strength, ripped across the state and into the Gulf and headed toward New Orleans.
It made landfall near where I now sit at Category 3. Among other things, it blew out the windows of my rental car, forcing me to drive back to New Orleans wearing sunglasses to protect against the flying shards of glass.
Andrew was a huge hurricane, both in size, strength and importance. But in many ways Gustav, while maybe not as big or strong as Andrew, is every bit as important.
Gustav is shaping up as a huge test for New Orleans. Though much has been made of all the money that has been raised and spent to help the city, and how many volunteers have been here and how far the city has come back, I must say that my first reaction returning to New Orleans for the first time since I left after Katrina was how many pieces of the city seem untouched.
Bringing New Orleans back even to the point that it is now has been a huge task.
Perhaps the greatest fear of those who would rebuild and resettle here is the the threat of another hurricane disaster.
If the city gets hit with the brunt of Gustav, or even experiences Category 1 or 2 hurricane conditions and the levies hold, it would be a tremendous boost to New Orleans' collective confidence and a demonstration it can take a hit and keep on going.
But should it take a direct hit, or even a glancing blow and have the levies overtop or breach, it might be truly the beginning of the end. That may be just enough for people here in New Orleans and across the country to question whether it makes sense to again rebuild a city in such jeopardy.
While Gustav will still be a major hurricane when it strikes, it will be smaller and weaker than first feared. But given its importance to the future of New Orleans, the truth is that we are still covering a huge storm.
