HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said the Astrodome will not be open for evacuees if Gustav hits New Orleans.  The reason, according to county officials, is common sense.

In the days following Hurricane Katrina, 25,000 evacuees from New Orleans packed into Houston’s Astrodome.  But the question people were asking was, “Why bring them to Houston?”

"Looking back on it, evacuating people from one hurricane zone into another hurricane zone doesn't make a lot of sense,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett

The county judge said the decision to move people from the Superdome to the Astrodome was last minute. At the time, Harris County wasn't planning on rolling out the welcome mat.

"That was a strange circumstance, because it wasn't an evacuation in advance of a hurricane; It was an evacuation after the floods. It was a humanitarian effort,” said Emmett.

This time, the State of Texas and the State of Louisiana have a plan. If Gustav decides to hit the Big Easy, evacuees will head to northern Louisiana. Emmett said this has been the plan for the past couple of years.

“It's pure common sense. If you're trying to run from storms, you don't go right back into where another storm may hit. Instead you go inland to avoid the water and the hurricanes," said Emmett.

The Mayor's office is on board with this plan.  They said it was a regional decision; not a Houston or Harris County decision.