Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Almost three years to the day after Katrina devastated New Orleans, disaster-response officials are bracing for Tropical Storm Gustav's projected landfall there as forecasters predict it will strengthen into a major hurricane.

The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, criticized in 2005 for its slow response to Katrina, is working with state officials to prepare for the storm. FEMA said it moved 2.4 million liters of water in 137 trucks, 4 million meals in 203 trucks, 478 electric generators and 267 truckloads of blankets and cots into position for distribution in the Gulf Coast states.

Mayor Ray Nagin said that the city's protective ring of levees isn't fully strengthened after some parts failed when Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, contributing to floods that covered 80 percent of the city.

``Although we have made strong strides in rebuilding our infrastructure, the levees have not been fully repaired and we have an $800 million budget gap to complete our sewage and water systems,'' Nagin said in a statement.

There will be no ``shelters of last resort,'' such as the Superdome or the Convention Center, where thousands took refuge during Katrina, the mayor said in a televised interview last night. Police will roam neighborhoods making sure people are out, and trains, buses and airplanes will be pressed into service for those without transportation, he said.

Governor's Request

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal issued a state declaration of emergency and requested a ``pre-landfall'' federal disaster declaration last night, saying the storm may overwhelm state resources, according to his Web site. Jindal readied 3,000 National Guardsmen to help emergency efforts in the state, and 700 buses were on standby to evacuate as many as 35,000 people.

Gustav had maximum sustained winds of almost 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour, and forecasters say it may intensify into a Category 3 hurricane as it enters the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. Category 3 hurricanes have maximum sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour.

The storm was 45 miles east of Kingston, Jamaica, just before 11 a.m. Miami time today, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working to improve the levee system that holds back water surrounding New Orleans, which sits below sea level. Work won't be completed until 2011, according to its Web site.

Jazz Funeral

Katrina was the most economically destructive hurricane in U.S. history, costing the Gulf Coast states as much as $125 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The population of New Orleans dropped to about 250,000, about half of what it was before the storm. It is now back up to about 300,000.

New Orleans is planning a traditional jazz funeral to remember Katrina's victims for 8 a.m. tomorrow beginning at Canal Street and Carrolton Avenue, followed by a ceremonial bell ringing at the Katrina Memorial Cemetery. A candlelight ceremony is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Jackson Square.

Executives of New Orleans hotels have met to discuss contingency plans, said Kelly Schulz, vice president for communications at the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau.

``At this point, we're business as usual,'' Schultz said.

The Southern Decadence Festival, a gay and lesbian gathering that draws ``several thousand people every Labor Day,'' was still on schedule, Schulz said.

Heading West

Nagin said New Orleans residents who may need assistance evacuating should register with the city. Colonel Jerry Sneed, director of the city's Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Department, said two days ago that 7,000 people had done so. He estimated 30,000 people would require assistance.

The system was heading west at 5 mph. As much as 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain may fall in parts of Jamaica, Haiti and the Cayman Islands.

Crude oil for October delivery fell, after climbing the past three days. Oil dropped 1 percent to $116.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Offshore fields in the Gulf accounted for 26 percent of total U.S. crude production and 12 percent of natural gas output in April, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

Red Cross

``Several thousand'' of the almost 20,000 workers on offshore platforms are being evacuated, said Ted Falgout, director of Port Fourchon in Louisiana, a staging area for offshore workers.

Federal agencies that have announced contingency plans include the Transportation Department, which is monitoring evacuation routes; the Transportation Security Administration, which is preparing to deploy airport security teams; and the National Guard Bureau, which is assessing resources for potential mobilization.

The American Red Cross said it has four management teams ready and positioned 19 emergency response vehicles in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. It has 196 additional vehicles on standby nationwide.

In New Orleans, Brennan's restaurant in the French Quarter was accepting telephone reservations. At Molly's at the Market, which received media attention for staying open throughout the aftermath of Katrina, a person answering the telephone had heard a storm might hit her city.

``People are beginning to talk about it,'' said Marsha Kerasidis, a bartender at Molly's. ``This is my first so I don't know what to expect.''

On Washington Avenue, not far from the Superdome, 73-year- old Simmie Walker and 73-year-old Mos Brown said they were waiting to see if they were going to leave their neighborhood, where houses still bear water marks and the painted code signs that told of death inside.

``If they say it's coming Tuesday, I am leaving Monday,'' Walker said.

``If you can get out,'' Brown added.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jerry Hart in Miami at jhart@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 28, 2008 14:57 EDT