Evacuation planned as Ike nears
September 07, 2008 05:17 EDT

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- A phased evacuation is planned for this morning for residents in the Florida Keys as Hurricane Ike gets ready to pass by.

Forecasters say Ike could start affecting the Keys tomorrow night. Tourists have already been told to leave.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist says there's no need to take chances since "these storms have a mind of their own."

Right now Ike is a Category 4 storm battering islands in the Atlantic. Its current projected track takes it over Cuba and into the central Gulf of Mexico.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says his city is also on alert. But he says he worries that if Ike threatens New Orleans, it'll be "very difficult to move the kind of numbers out of this city that we moved during Gustav."