Residents of New Orleans fled their homes today as hurricane Gustav – dubbed “the mother of all storms” – threatened the city three years after Katrina wreaked havoc on their city.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic clogged roads leading out of the city and shops began running low on fuel and emergency supplies as the “monster” category four hurricane barrelled towards the Gulf of Mexico after leaving more than 80 people dead and thousands displaced in the Caribbean.

“This is the mother of all storms,” said Ray Nagin, the New Orleans mayor. “This storm is so powerful and growing more powerful every day that I’m not sure we’ve seen anything like it.”

Mr Nagin made it clear he wanted the entire city of New Orleans evacuated by Sunday. “We want everybody… we want 100 percent evacuation,” he said. “If you decide to stay, you are on your own.”

Gustav was forecast to hit the US Gulf Coast on Monday packing torrential rains, winds of 150 miles per hour and potentially catastrophic storm surges. Meteorologists forecast it to reach Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico, before dropping back to Category 4 by landfall on the Gulf Coast.

“But whether it is a Category 4 or 5, it is extremely dangerous either way,” Chris Landsea, a National Hurricane Centre (NHC) forecaster, said.

Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana Governor, did not mince his words, warning that Gustav could cause “flooding that is worse than what we saw with Katrina.”

“This storm could be as bad as it gets when it comes to the effect on the Louisiana coast,” Mr Jindal said.

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