NEW ORLEANS -- The head of emergency planning for New Orleans said the city is prepared to move 30,000 residents to safety if a storm threatens the area.

At a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, city emergency preparedness director Jerry Sneed said Tropical Storm Gustav is too far from New Orleans to know if a mandatory evacuation of the city will be necessary.

In the meantime, hundreds of residents called a city hot line Wednesday to register for public transportation out of New Orleans. Sneed said at least 7,000 people already have signed for seats on buses and trains out of town.

Residents got in line to gas up before getting out of town, and it's only going to get worse heading into the weekend.

"You're going to have to have a commercial traffic cop to keep the contra flow, not just on the interstates, but here at the gas station," said Andrew Leboard.

A group of men were hard at work picking up hardwood for family members Uptown.

"This is for my mom's house," Armando Diaz said. "She wants us to do it, and for the neighbors. This is like the fifth time we've come over here to Home Depot."

Diaz said many still refuse to leave even if a mandatory evacuation is called.

"Some of them are staying," he said. "Some are just old-time stubborn people from New Orleans."

Those sticking around said they're stocking up.

"This is a New Orleans basket -- it's got beer, water and whiskey," said Bruce Anderson, who lives in Metairie.

Pretzels, bread and other snacks filled Anderson's cart. He said he's weathered plenty of storms before.

"We weren't going to evacuate for Katrina, but we saw what it looked like Sunday morning and said there ain't no way," he said. "So hopefully this won't be as bad. Hopefully it'll miss us completely."

Stores like Zuppardo's have stocked up on all kinds of supplies. Things like batteries and flashlights are in places that are easily accessible to customers.

Management said business has been slow since the rush last weekend when Tropical Storm Fay threatened. But they said they expect that to change, just like the weather.

"I got here early," Anderson said. "I figured Thursday and Friday will be kind of a madhouse."