* New Orleans mayor pushes for flights to/from Havana

* Sees "huge opportunity" if U.S.-Cuba relations improve

* Says Cuba must prepare for Katrina-like storms

HAVANA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - New Orleans hopes to cash in on an improvement in U.S.-Cuba relations by getting direct charter flights between New Orleans and Havana, the U.S. city's mayor said in Havana on Tuesday.

"We see a huge opportunity if President (Barack) Obama continues to go in the direction he's headed," Ray Nagin said in an interview with Reuters.

"The first thing is to get the license from the U.S., then everything else falls into line," he added, saying word on the fate of the license could come as early as January.

Nagin was heading a delegation of New Orleans officials in Cuba to talk with the government about topics ranging from hurricane preparation to commercial opportunities, including flights.

Cuba and New Orleans, about 700 miles (1,125 km) apart, once had close economic ties as goods sailed across the Gulf of Mexico, but most of that was halted by the U.S. trade embargo imposed 47 years ago to undermine the Cuban government.

Under Obama, the United States and Cuba have taken small steps toward ending hostilities that date back to the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power and turned Cuba to communism.

Obama has eased the embargo by allowed Cuban-Americans to travel freely to Cuba, and bills are pending in the U.S. Congress that would end a general ban on Americans visiting the island just 90 miles (145 km) from Florida.

If the ban is lifted, New Orleans would benefit by having flights to and from Havana and an increase in tourist traffic, Nagin said.

Charter flights are currently allowed between the two countries, but not direct commercial flights.

STORM PREPARATION

Nagin said his delegation had spent much time learning from Cubans how they prepare for big storms.

The island is the frequent target of hurricanes, but has few storm-related deaths.

New Orleans is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, which left more than 1,500 dead and caused more than $80 billion in damage when it slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005.

Nagin said Cuba's success arose from its ability to mobilize people and get them out of harm's way. Storm evacuations are mandatory in Cuba but not in the United States.

New Orleans officials believe Cuba needs to do more planning for a Katrina-like storm of disastrous proportions, Nagin said.

"We're trying to get them to think about the ultimate catastrophe, where 80 percent of Havana is damaged and they have no communications, no electricity and law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed," he said.

Thinking in those terms has been "a difficult mental shift" for the Cubans, Nagin said. "They'll tell you, 'We're prepared for everything,'" he said. (Editing by Peter Cooney)

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