Coast Guard in New Orleans prepares for Hurricane Ivan

The weather couldn't have been much nicer in New Orleans on Monday afternoon. But that's little consolation to Coast Guard Capt. Mark Blace, the group commander there. Forecasts show New Orleans may lie in the hard-to-predict path of Hurricane Ivan, the third blockbuster in a month to head for the southeastern U.S.

Ivan is expected to hit land Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Emergency response agencies throughout the Gulf states are getting ready. Of all the events the Coast Guard may have to respond to in Louisiana, hurricanes are both the most common and the most destructive.

Blace has people and boats to move. Starting Monday night, the families of the 16 Coast Guard units under his command will evacuate to a naval air station in Meridian, Miss. Some live in low-lying areas along the Mississippi River where there's only one main road out of town. Blace needs to get them out before those roads become backed up.

Then come the patrol boats, which don't handle well in the huge swells that a hurricane can cause. The Coast Guard will move the boats up the Mississippi River to more sheltered water, but that has to be done before the river's locks are closed in preparation for the storm.

Preparing for a disaster requires greater coordination among Coast Guard employees who serve disparate functions, such as port security and boat safety. "Now we're all thrown into one big pot," Blace said. It also requires interagency coordination. As of Monday, Blace was working most closely with city and state emergency response agencies to plan evacuations.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent staff and supplies to Florida and Alabama, but has not yet set up an emergency post in Louisiana, Blace said, because they are positioning resources where the hurricane is most likely to hit.

If the storm does hit New Orleans, Blace will wait it out at a Coast Guard command Center in Baton Rogue, where he'll monitor the storm and swap information with other agencies. "We all like to have a common operating picture," he said. A fast-moving storm would cause greater wind damage, while a slow storm means more rain.

As soon as the conditions are safe for helicopters and patrol boats, the Coast Guard will begin search and rescue efforts and replace any damaged navigation aids along the Mississippi River, which help pilots of large ships stay in the river's deep channel. Blace said he hopes that won't be necessary. "We're still in the getting-ready-for-it mode here," he said. "Hopefully this is a false alarm."