BATON ROUGE -- As Hurricane Ike's Monday evening track pointed toward a Texas landfall, Gov. Bobby Jindal said he did not foresee a massive evacuation along the Louisiana coastline, particularly in the New Orleans region that hundreds of thousands vacated for Hurricane Gustav just days ago.

BATON ROUGE -- State and parish officials by mid-day Sunday were operating 55 centers distributing food, ice, water and tarps to victims of Hurricane Gustav and those who were still without utilities.

The Louisiana State University AgCenter has made available a 32-page Storm Recovery Guide to help Louisianians in the cleanup after Hurricane Gustav.

Persistent easterly winds surrounding Tropical Depression Gustav are pushing water up against the Louisiana shoreline this morning, prompting a coastal flood warning until 10 a.m. that also includes Lake Pontchartrain.

I left New Orleans late Sunday morning, figuring by then most neighborhoods would have emptied out for Gustav and I'd be spared a trip through traffic purgatory.

Yet I was still incredulous when I jumped on Interstate 10 heading east towards Slidell and I was one of the only drivers on the road. I sailed over the high-rise, past Read Boulevard and some of the apartment buildings and shopping centers that still looked stunned from Katrina.

And then it was there in front of me: the burn of a thousand brake lights. Gridlock began just before I hit the twin spans, and I did not emerge for roughly 12 more hours - and even then I was only in Hattiesburg, five hours and 250 miles short of my destination.

Hundreds of thousands of motorists leaving southeast Louisiana Sunday
endured massive traffic snarls, especially on routes north and east
into Mississippi.

Motorists reported enduring journeys of 10 hours north to Jackson along
Interstate 55, instead of the usual three; 11 hours to Meridian along
Interstate 59, instead of the usual three; and 15 hours up I-59 to
Birmingham, instead of the usual six.

BATON ROUGE - Hurricane Gustav so far is costing the government about $65 million, but the total impact is yet unknown as officials plan for rescue and response missions, state and federal officials said Monday afternoon.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said the figure is a rough estimate of the cost of evacuation, preparation and response measures taken by public agencies at this point. Private losses for residents and businesses are not included.

Tropical Storm Ike, the ninth tropical storm of the season, has formed over the Atlantic Ocean.

At 4 p.m., the center of the newly formed Tropical Storm Ike was about 1,400 miles east of the Leeward Islands.

Tropical Storm Ike, the ninth tropical storm of the season, has formed over the Atlantic Ocean.

At 4 p.m., the center of the newly formed Tropical Storm Ike was about 1,400 miles east of the Leeward Islands.

Tropical Storm Ike, the ninth tropical storm of the season, has formed over the Atlantic Ocean.

At 4 p.m., the center of the newly formed Tropical Storm Ike was about 1,400 miles east of the Leeward Islands.

St. Tammany Parish Hospital lost city power on Monday, but its generators immediately kicked in, making its emergency room operational -- but quiet.

BATON ROUGE -- State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said Monday that his office has investigated between 300 and 350 complaints of price gouging in the days leading up to Gustav's landfall and is braced for hundreds more in the coming days as contractors start swarming to the state.

Matthew Hinton/ The Times-PicayuneMatthew Hinton / The Times-Picayune New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin listens during a briefing with various officials to learn the current state of evacuation in his office in City Hall on Sunday. He said today that the city could open as early as Tuesday, if the roads are passable.

As Hurricane Gustav made landfall around 10 a.m. Monday about 70 miles southwest of New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin said residents may be able to start returning to their homes within 24 to 36 hours after tropical storm force winds die down, depending on the damage left by the storm.

After a night spent hunkered down in their offices on the second floor of City Hall, City Council members Arnie Fielkow and Cynthia Willard-Lewis said they were feeling "cautious optimism" as Hurricane Gustav's winds and rain pummeled New Orleans, though with less intensity that originally feared.

Jefferson Parish pump operators aren't likely to leave pumping stations during Hurricane Gustav, administrators said.

See rainfall totals for every pump station as of 7 a.m. East Jefferson | West Bank