By Thursday night Gustav had already arrived in Natchez.

The then-tropical storm was days away from a possible landfall along the Gulf Coast, but the storm was certainly on the minds of Miss-Lou residents.

Traffic was brisk at the gas stations across the area even as motorists grumbled about price hikes that seemed too premature to actually have been caused by the storm.

Hotel phones rang off the hook as potential evacuees set up places to stay.

By late last week all rooms were reportedly booked in hotels and almost all of the bed and breakfasts were filled, too.

Tourism officials began soliciting homeowners who had vacant rooms in their houses to begin accepting evacuees.

The reality of another “Katrina” began setting in when word spread that all the hotels were full.

The Adams County Chapter of the American Red Cross began making preparations to open evacuation shelters on an “as needed” basis.

The shelves at Wal-Mart were nearly devoid of water, at least temporarily.

Across town at Natchez Market and Kmart the supplies were still plentiful and people were buying water and other emergency supplies in great bulk.

By Saturday, the scenes coming out of New Orleans were vastly different than the ones in the days just prior to Hurricane Katrina’s arrival in 2005.

Orderly evacuations appeared to be under way in New Orleans and surrounding areas.

Gustav inflated himself overnight on Friday and became a category 4 hurricane — nearly the strongest kind.

Forecasters said it was likely to be a category 5 hurricane — the most powerful kind of storm — late Saturday or Sunday.

This community came together in amazing ways in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

And we’re poised to do so again, if we’re lucky enough to avoid Mother Nature’s hammer as Gustav steams ashore.

If, as forecasters predict, the storm hits the Louisiana Gulf Coast, the environmental impact may easily surpass the economic impact.

Louisiana’s precious marshlands, which make up a significant portion of the United States’ wetlands, continue to be lost each year.

Since the 1930s, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates some 1,900 square miles of Louisiana marsh has be washed away.

The last thing the marshes need is another gut shot.

But then again, that’s the last thing the residents of the Gulf Coast need, too.

Any evacuees that make their way into the Natchez area deserve our patience and respect. Few of us understand the level of stress, fear and frustration that accompanies having two “lifetime” storms in three years that threaten to blow away your home.

None of us knows what Gustav will ultimately bring, or where he’ll ultimately bring it. But we need to pray that damage is light and that peace and togetherness join forces after the storm’s winds calm and the rain ceases.

At the end of the day, we’re all in this life together and we were all put here to help one another.

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.