NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Gustav charged toward the largely deserted coast of Louisiana early today, but appeared destined to make landfall to the west of a city still recovering three years after Katrina's devastating blow. Those who heeded the days of warnings to get out watched from shelters and hotel rooms hundreds of miles away, praying the powerful Category 3 storm and its 115-mph winds would pass without the same deadly toll.

"We're nervous, but we just have to keep trusting in God that we don't get the water again," said Lyndon Guidry, who hit the road for Florida just a few months after he was able to return to his home in New Orleans. "We just have to put our faith in God."

The brutal memories of Katrina, which flooded 80 percent of New Orleans and killed more than 1,600 along the Gulf Coast, led officials to aggressively insist that everyone in Gustav's path flee from shore. As the storm grew near, the streets of the city were empty — save for National Guard troops and just about every cop on the city's force standing watch for looters.

In all, nearly 2 million people left south Louisiana, as did tens of thousands from coastal Mississippi, Alabama and southeastern Texas. Even presidential politics took a back seat to the storm as the Republican Party scaled back its convention plans in deference to Gustav's threat.

"It's amazing. It makes me feel really good that so many people are saying, 'We as Americans, we as the world, have to get this right this time,' " New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said. "We cannot afford to screw up again."

Gustav killed at least 94 people as it tore through the Caribbean and it will test three years of planning and rebuilding on the Gulf Coast following Katrina's wrath. Billions of dollars were at stake as Gustav threatened industries ranging from sugar to shipping. If production is significantly interrupted from the region's refineries and offshore oil and gas platforms, price spikes could hit all Americans at the pump.

Officials promised they were ready to respond. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said search and rescue would be the top priority once the storm passed: high-water vehicles, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, Coast Guard cutters and a Navy vessel that is essentially a floating emergency room were posted around the strike zone.

"I feel a little nervous about the storm and exactly where it's going to end up, but I also feel real good about the resources," Nagin said. "Man, if we have resources, we can move mountains."

STILL A CATEGORY 3

Forecasters say Hurricane Gustav is no longer expected to gain strength before it slams into the Louisiana coast around midday. The National Hurricane Center says Gustav remains a Category 3 storm with top sustained winds near 115 mph as it roars in from the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier forecasts had said Gustav might get stronger before coming ashore. Category 3 storms have winds between 111 mph and 130 mph.

At 5 a.m. EDT today (11 p.m. last night, Hawai'i time), Gustav was centered about 115 miles south-southeast of New Orleans and was moving northwest near 16 mph.

Tropical storm-force winds had reached the southeastern tip of the state and winds were picking up at New Orleans' City Hall, but they had not reached the 55-mph limit that would lead police to call officers in from patrols.

New Orleans appeared likely to be on the "dirty" side of the storm, where rainfall is heaviest and tornadoes are possible, but the storm surge is lower. If forecasts hold, the city would experience a storm surge of only 4 to 6 feet, compared to a surge of 10 to 14 feet at the site of landfall, said Corey Walton, a hurricane support meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center.

Katrina, by comparison, brought a storm surge of 25 feet. Fears of another Katrina led Nagin and Gov. Bobby Jindal to order a massive evacuation that succeeded in removing 90 percent of the population, or roughly 1.9 million people, from southern Louisiana. It continued late into the evening hours yesterday, with Jindal issuing a final plea to the estimated 100,000 people who decided to stay and ride out the storm.

"If you've not evacuated, please do so," Jindal said. "There are still a few hours left."

Adam Woods didn't need the reminder. A Coast Guard helicopter plucked him off his roof after Katrina struck, and this time, he and his lab mix, Mandela, headed to the city's Union Station for a ride out of town.

"I've got oxygen in my lungs," the 53-year-old landscaper said. "Remember, you've got to be alive to have problems."

WAITING FOR 911 CALLS

The final train out of New Orleans left with fewer than 100 people on board, while one of the last buses to make the rounds of the city pulled into Union Station empty. Every officer in the department was on duty as police made their final rounds around 7 p.m.

"When the 911 calls start coming in, we'll know how many people are left in town," said police superintendent Warren Riley.

The city's emergency medical service had received only 26 calls as of midnight today, a fraction of what they received on the night before Katrina, spokesman Jeb Tate said.

Jeffrey Carreras was among those staying behind. Looters wreaked havoc in his neighborhood restaurant in the days after Katrina struck and despite promises of police protection, he wasn't willing to leave his business a second time.

"I have shotguns, rifles. I collect guns actually," Carreras said. "So I have plenty of guns in there, plenty of ammo."

Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer, Janet McConnaughey, Robert Tanner, Cain Burdeau, Alan Sayre and Allen G. Breed contributed to this report from New Orleans. Vicki Smith in Houma, Doug Simpson in Baton Rouge and Michael Kunzelman in Lafayette also contributed.