GOVERNOR Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency in western Louisiana today and urged people to evacuate parts of the state due to the new threat of Hurricane Rita. "I have put the state on alert. We've declared another emergency ... for southwest Louisiana," Ms Blanco said. "We're urging people to evacuate," she said as Rita barrelled near southernmost Florida, gaining strength and heading west on a track that could take it close to the devastated Louisiana city. Emergency services have already begun evacuating residents of New Orleans, which is still a disaster area following Hurricane Katrina's August 29 hit,...