As of Wednesday night, Mayor Nagin was still in Denver and talked with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper:

“The big question is ‘What shape are our levees in?’ With all the work the Corps of Engineers has done, is it sufficient enough to handle what is projected to be a Category 3 that right now is poised and headed for New Orleans?” Unlike Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Nagin said there will be no shelter of last resort, such as the Superdome or Morial Convention Center, and residents will be transported out of the city on buses and trains. He said, if Gustav is greater than a category 2 storm and the predicted storm surge is greater than the levee height of approximately 17 to 20 feet, then a mandatory evacuation would be ordered. When asked about the city’s plan for evacuating special needs residents, the mayor said only 7,000 people have registered through the city’s 311 hotline. “That’s part of the challenge going forward. But even the ones we have not identified, we will still go out into the community and try to bring them in.”

Okay, then. Maybe Mayor Nagin can tell America how he is going to identify in the next three days or so which residents they need to go and rescue?

UPDATE: Nagin has returned to New Orleans.