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WEDNESDAY9/3/08 8:00AM
New Orleans residents to return to no power
Information from The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Enter at your own risk, New Orleans. That was the message from Mayor Ray Nagin, who gave residents the go-ahead to return to the Crescent City on Wednesday night at midnight, but with several warnings - many homes were without electricity or working toilets and a dusk-to-dawn curfew would still be in effect.

Millions fled the Gulf Coast in fear of Hurricane Gustav, and many were ready to get back home after spending several days in hot, overcrowded shelters. But as of late Tuesday, there were still nearly 800,000 homes in Louisiana without power, including about 77,000 in the city of New Orleans. Officials said the main transmission lines into southern Louisiana were crippled and they had no timetable of when much of the power might be restored.

The mayor said he had no choice but to begin allowing residents back because neighboring parishes were reopening Wednesday morning. But they, too, face the dangers of downed power lines and trees.

Still, residents who evacuated coastal areas want to return, realizing this was no Katrina, which killed 1,600 people in 2005. Nine deaths have been attributed to Gustav.

Early insurance industry estimates put the expected damage to covered properties at anywhere from $2 billion to $10 billion. That's high, but well short of Katrina's $41 billion.

Initial inspections showed little damage to the Gulf Coast's extensive oil and gas installations, though resumption of production and refining could still take a few days. Reflecting confidence the industry suffered little damage, oil prices fell $5.75 a barrel.

Power outages caused by Gustav forced officials to transport scores of patients from hospitals and other medical facilities for fear they couldn't survive long without air conditioning.

Emergency officials strongly defended the decision to evacuate, saying that with something as unpredictable as a hurricane, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Officials noted that, yes, New Orleans' levees held, and Gustav struck only a glancing blow. But when trees fell on homes, power lines went down and roads were washed out in parts of south Louisiana, there was no one around to get hurt.

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TUESDAY 9/2/08 11:00AM
Insurers estimate Gustav claims as high as $10B
BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - Risk management firms estimate that Hurricane Gustav could trigger insurance claims as high as 10 billion dollars, including damage to oil facilities.

That would pale in comparison to Hurricane Katrina, which cost insurers 41 billion dollars.

Oil workers, utility crews, fishermen and other business owners are fanning out across the Gulf Coast to assess the actual damage. Retailers have begun restocking shelves anticipating cleanup efforts.

Losses on land were expected to total between 3 billion and 7 billion dollars and oil-drilling damage at about 1 billion to 3 billion dollars, according to Risk Management Solutions. Catastrophe risk-modeling firm AIR Worldwide puts preliminary losses on land ranging between 2 billion and 4.5 billion dollars.

Total losses won't be known for months.

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MONDAY 9/1/08 6:15PM
Gustav Could Become Tropical Storm Monday Night
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Hurricane Gustav continues to weaken, as New Orleans officials keep a wary eye on the levees.

Gustav's top winds have dropped to 80 miles-per-hour, hours after the hurricane came ashore west of New Orleans with 110-mile-per-hour winds.

Forecasters expect Gustav to become a tropical storm tonight or early tomorrow, and a tropical depression by Wednesday.

With the winds still blowing, the extent of the damage from Gustav has yet to be assessed.

There's been no word on the status of a vital energy industry hub near the eye of the storm at landfall.

New Orleans' levees appear to be holding so far, though water has been splashing over the tops of some of them.

The storm surge in the Industrial Canal on the east side of the city reached 12 feet, the same height as the lowest wall. Officials are carefully monitoring the vulnerable West Bank, where work to improve the levees is years from completion.

There's also been flooding in Mississippi and Alabama.

More than 500,000 homes and businesses are without power.

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MONDAY 9/1/08 4:15PM
Gustav Weakens To Category 1 Hurricane

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Hurricane Gustav is quickly losing its punch after plowing through south Louisiana's fishing and oil industry.

The National Hurricane Center downgraded the storm to a Category 1 storm with 90-mph winds Monday afternoon as it sideswiped New Orleans and pushed through the state toward Texas.

Gustav arrived with 110-mph winds and storm surge that had water splashing over the top of the floodwall of the Industrial Canal along the 9th Ward in New Orleans.

But the hurricane's wind and surge haven't been nearly as fearsome as forecasters had predicted.

The storm is expected to move into Texas overnight and drop as much as 20 inches of rain there by Thursday.

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MONDAY 9/1/08 11:45AM
Bush in Texas for Gustav briefing

AUSTIN, Tx. (AP) - President Bush, trying to prove his administration has learned the haunting lessons of Katrina, flew to Texas for briefings on Hurricane Gustav, which hit land on Monday, battering the Gulf Coast with flood waters and more than 100 mph winds.

Bush had planned to address the Republican National Convention, but he headed instead to Austin and San Antonio in Texas, about 400 miles west of where the storm struck the Louisiana coast.

He received an hourlong briefing aboard Air Force One and planned to learn more about the storm at a Texas Emergency Operations Center in Austin and a command center in San Antonio.

Asked if Bush was satisfied so far by the response of government at all levels, White House press secretary Dana Perino said: "Yes, so far."

David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told reporters on the plane that there has been "unprecedented cooperation" among federal agencies and the private sector.

"What it allows us to do is share information of what's going on so we don't end up with what happened in Katrina, with different agencies doing things and others not knowing what's happening," he said.

Paulison said the help came ahead of the storm time, significantly easing evacuations. Everyone in New Orleans who wanted to evacuate could have, Paulison said. "There should not be any excuses," he said. "If people stayed in New Orleans, it was their choice."

By flying to Texas, Bush clearly wanted to show the nation, and particularly people of the Gulf Coast, that he is committed to answering their needs. He said he hopes to get to Louisiana, too, but will choose a time that does not interfere with emergency response efforts.

Gustav was downgraded to a Category 2 storm by mid-Monday morning. Katrina was a Category 3 storm when it hit the Gulf Coast three years ago, obliterating 90,000 square miles of property and costing billions of dollars in response and repairs.

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SUNDAY 8/31/08 11:10AM
Bush, Cheney to skip GOP convention due to Gustav

At 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, the U.S. hurricane center said Gustav was
centered about 325 miles (520 kilometers) southeast of the mouth of
the Mississippi River and moving northwest near 17 mph (28 kph).

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SUNDAY 8/31/08 11:05AM
Bush, Cheney to skip GOP convention due to Gustav

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House says President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will skip the Republican National Convention
because of Hurricane Gustav.

First lady Laura Bush still is scheduled to address delegates in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday, the opening day.

Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino says the White House is working on possible alternatives that would allow Bush to make a speech at the convention, which begins Monday.

But Cheney is to leave Tuesday on a four-country trip that includes a stop in Georgia.

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SUNDAY 8/31/08 11:05AM
Powerful Gustav hits Cuba; New Orleans evacuates

HAVANA (AP) - Cubans returned from shelters to find flooded homes and washed-out roads Sunday, but no deaths were reported after a monstrous Hurricane Gustav roared across the island and into the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico.

About 250,000 Cubans were evacuated before Gustav made landfall on Cuba's Isla de la Juventud, then again on the Cuban mainland in the region that produces much of the tobacco used to make the nation's famed cigars.

It was just short of top-scale Category 5 hurricane with screaming 140 mph (220 kph) winds as it moved across the island, toppling telephone poles and fruit trees, shattering windows and tearing off the tin roofs of homes.

A Cuban television reporter on the Isla de la Juventud said the storm had felt like "the blast wave from a bomb."

"Buildings without windows, without doors," he said. "Few trees remain standing."

Cuban Civil defense chief Ana Isa Delgado said there were "many people injured" on the island of 87,000 people. Nearly all the island's roads were washed out and some regions were heavily flooded. "It's been very difficult here," she said on state television.

But there were no reports of deaths, there or on the mainland.

Gustav earlier killed 81 people by triggering floods and landslides in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

The hurricane weakened slightly after crossing Cuba, slowing to Category 3 status before sunrise Sunday. But it still packed top winds near 120 mph (195 kph) and forecasters predicted it would increase to a Category 4 before making landfall Monday along the U.S. Gulf coast.

More than 1 million Americans made wary by Hurricane Katrina took buses, trains, planes and cars as they streamed out of New Orleans and other coastal cities, where Katrina killed about 1,600 people in 2005.

Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans, which was devastated by Katrina, issued a mandatory evacuation order and warned that anyone found
off their own property after it takes effect can be arrested.

Police and National Guard troops were on the streets, preparing to
patrol evacuated neighborhoods.

Nagin called Gustav the "mother of all storms" and told residents to "get out of town. This is not the one to play with."

---

SATURDAY 8/30/08 5:05PM
Hurricane watch issued for parts of Gulf Coast

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and part of
Texas.

The watch area includes New Orleans, where residents marked the
third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastation on Friday. The
watch stretches from east of High Island, Texas, to the
Alabama-Florida border.

Forecasters say Hurricane Gustav is a powerful Atlantic storm
taking aim at Louisiana and will likely become a Category 5 with
sustained winds of 160 mph or more by Sunday.

A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within
the watch area, generally within 36 hours.

A million people were taking to Gulf Coast highways Saturday,
boarding up homes and businesses and fleeing Gustav.

A tropical storm watch was also issued along the Panhandle coast
of Florida.

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SATURDAY 8/30/08 1:30PM
Gustav grows

MIAMI (AP) - Forecasters say Gustav has strengthened to a
Category 4 storm, with winds near 145 mph.


SATURDAY 8/30/08 12:05PM
Tropical storm warning in effect for Keys as Gustav nears

MIAMI (AP) - A tropical storm warning is in effect for the lower Florida keys west of the seven mile bridge to dry tortugas as Gustav strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane.

Gustav strengthened some this morning with top sustained winds near 125 mph as it headed for western Cuba.

A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area within the next 24 hours.

At 8 a.m. EDT, Gustav's center was about 225 miles east-southeast of the western tip of Cuba.

The center of Gustav was expected to move away from the Cayman Islands on Saturday morning and move over western Cuba later
Saturday afternoon and evening.

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SATURDAY 8/30/08 12:00PM
Gustav grows to Category 3 hurricane near Caymans

MIAMI (AP) - Gustav strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane
early Saturday with top sustained winds near 125 mph as it headed
for western Cuba.

The center said the latest data from an Air Force reconnaissance
plane showed that Gustav continued to strengthen.

At 11 a.m., the center of Gustav was about 185 miles east of the
western tip of Cuba. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 125
mph, just 6 mph shy of the Category 4 threshold.

The center of Gustav was expected to move away from the Cayman
Islands on Saturday morning and move over western Cuba later
Saturday afternoon and evening.

The storm will then move into the southern Gulf of Mexico early Sunday.

---

FRIDAY 8/29/2008 10:30PM
Gustav Hurricane Again

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) - Gustav became a hurricane
again on Friday as it plowed toward Cayman Islands resorts, the
start of a buildup that could take it to the U.S. Gulf Coast as a
fearsome Category-3 storm three years after Hurricane Katrina.

Gustav, which killed 71 people in the Caribbean, was expected to
swirl through the Cayman Islands, a tiny offshore tax haven studded
with resorts and cruise-ship souvenir shops, before crossing Cuba's
cigar country and heading into the Gulf of Mexico by Sunday.

Well-heeled tourists fled Cayman hotels by air, while Katrina
victims in Mississippi still living in emergency cottages and
trailers were told to evacuate beginning this weekend.

Hotels on the Cayman Islands asked guests to leave, then after
the airport closed prepared to shelter those who remained.

The storm killed four people in a day-long march across the
length of Jamaica, where it ripped off roofs and downed power
lines. About 4,000 people were displaced from their homes, with
about half relocated to shelters.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding said the government sent army
helicopters Friday to rescue 31 people trapped by floods. At least
59 people died in Haiti and eight in the Dominican Republic.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Gustav could
grow to a Category 3 storm, with winds above 111 mph (180 kph), by
the time it hits the U.S. Gulf coast next week. Gustav could strike
anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to Texas, but forecasters said
there is a better-than-even chance that New Orleans will get
slammed by at least tropical-storm-force winds.

As much as 80 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas
production could be shut down as a precaution if Gustav enters as a
major storm, weather research firm Planalytics predicted. Oil
companies have already evacuated hundreds of workers from offshore
platforms.

Retail gas prices rose Friday for the first time in 43 days as
analysts warned that a direct hit on Gulf energy infrastructure
could send pump prices hurtling toward $5 a gallon. Crude oil
prices ended slightly lower in a volatile session as some traders
feared supply disruptions and others bet the government will
release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The hurricane center said top winds increased to near 80 mph
(130 kph). Gustav was centered 90 miles (130 kms) east of Grand
Cayman, moving northwest near 11 mph (18 kph).

It was projected to hit Cuba's Isle of Youth, then cross the
main island into the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday night or Sunday.

---

FRIDAY 8/29/08 3:30PM
Guztaz strengthens into a hurricane
NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) - Gustav is back to hurricane strength.

It's a Category 1 storm, but could get even stronger.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say Gustav remains on track to strike anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to eastern Texas sometime next week.

The news came only hours after New Orleans lay to rest the last seven unclaimed victims of Hurricane Katrina from three years ago. A horse-drawn carriage brought the bodies to a memorial site to be entombed.

Most other remembrances were called off as officials scurried to plan for Hurricane Gustav. National Guard members are reporting to armories, while some nursing homes and hospitals plan to start moving patients farther inland and the state began moving 9,000 inmates from coastal lockups.

President Bush has already declared an emergency in Louisiana, a move that allows the federal government to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance in storm-affected areas.

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FRIDAY 8/29/08 3:30PM
Guztaz strengthens into a hurricane
MIAMI, Fla. (AP) - Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say Gustav has again strengthened into a hurricane.

At around 3:15 p.m. EDT Friday, data showed the Category 1 storm had top sustained winds of around 75 miles per hour, and was still on track to hit near the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and later, somewhere along the Gulf Coast.

Gulf Coast states are watching the storm carefully. Mississippi is telling coastal residents hit by Hurricane Katrina ago to evacuate this weekend, and Grand Isle, La. residents also are under a voluntary evacuation order.

If the storm hit the Gulf Coast, it would strike only days after communities marked the three-year anniversary of Katrina. Forecasters caution that a storm's exact track and strength are difficult to predict days in advance.

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FRIDAY 8/29/08 3PM
Evacuations begin this weekend in Mississippi
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Hurricane Katrina victims still living in temporary housing along Mississippi's coastline should begin evacuating this weekend as Gustav approaches the Gulf Coast, Gov. Haley Barbour said Friday.

Forecasters say the storm could hit anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to Texas as a major hurricane next week, though caution it is difficult to predict a storm's track and strength several days in advance.

"Let me say to the people of Mississippi: This is not a time to panic, but it is a time to get prepared," Barbour said at a news conference.

There are 4,184 government-provided mobile homes and trailers that remain occupied along Mississippi's 70-mile coast, which was badly hit by Katrina three years ago. Officials are concerned because trailers are vulnerable to damage in high winds.

But it could be difficult to persuade some residents to leave. Sunshine Tatum, 51, whose home was flooded with 6 feet of water in Katrina, has lived in a trailer for three years. Her home still doesn't have full electricity, water and gas service, but she hopes it is strong enough to keep her safe.

"We've got a bunch of animals and we can't just up and leave them," she said. "This house is pretty strong, and I think it's stronger now than it ever was before."

Barbour says mandatory evacuation notices are going out to trailer residents on Saturday. Evacuations of trailers and mobile homes in Mississippi's coastal Harrison and Hancock counties will start Sunday morning and will begin Monday in Jackson County.

The order also applies to some of the 2,800 cottages built as alternatives to trailers. Only those cottages in flood zones are subject to mandatory evacuation.

Barbour said it's too early for Mississippi to decide if a wider evacuation order will be needed. Those decisions will be made in the coming days.

"The blessing, if there is one, is that it's a three-day weekend," he said. "The storm is a long way off. People have a lot of time."

Mississippi was the first state to call for any mandatory evacuations in advance of a possible hit by Gustav. The mayor of Grand Isle, La., a community typically among the first to vacate when severe weather threatens, called for a voluntary evacuation beginning Friday afternoon. New Orleans was organizing buses in case an evacuation was necessary, but had not yet called for residents to leave.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said federal officials defer to state and local authorities on making evacuation calls, but can help them synchronize their plans.

"We try not to pull the trigger too early on evacuation because you don't want to have false alarms," he said.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

---

FRIDAY 8/29/08 12:30PM
New Orleans prepares for Guztav
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - With a new storm threatening to cause chaos in New Orleans all over again, a horse-drawn carriage brought the last seven unclaimed bodies of Hurricane Katrina victims for entombment at a memorial site on Friday during ceremonies marking the disaster's third anniversary.

The ceremonies were tinged with a recognition of how much the city has rebuilt since Katrina's floods, as well as fear that another disaster could be looming.

"We look ahead to a better day, as we also prepare ourselves for another threat," Mayor Ray Nagin said as he helped guide a gleaming coffin into a mausoleum.

Tropical Storm Gustav was swirling near Jamaica on Friday after being blamed for 67 deaths in its path. Forecasters said it could hit the Louisiana coast early next week as a major hurricane and city and state officials were preparing for possible weekend evacuations - the first in the state since Katrina hit in 2005.

About 200 people attended the ceremony. Many rang hand-held bells at 9:38 a.m., the time that levee breaches that inundated the city are believed to have begun.

Preparations for Gustav forced cancellation of other Katrina memorials Friday, including a jazz funeral that was to have been part of the memorial service. Instead, a lone trumpeter played "Amazing Grace."

As Gustav churned, the National Guard was scheduled to begin convoying into New Orleans, while some nursing homes and hospitals planned to start moving patients further inland and the state began moving 9,000 inmates from coastal lockups.

An evacuation order for New Orleans was likely, Nagin said, but not before Saturday. Meanwhile, residents of areas further south could be told to leave starting Friday, Gov. Bobby Jindal said.

New Orleans said it is prepared to move 30,000 residents in an evacuation; estimates put the city's current population between 310,000 to 340,000 people. There were about 454,000 here before Katrina hit. Unlike Katrina, there will be no massive shelter at the Superdome, in fact, no shelter at all was planned for the city. It was unclear what would happen to those left behind.

At 11 a.m. EDT, the center of Gustav was about 165 miles east-southeast of Grand Cayman. It had top sustained winds near 65 mph.

But forecasters said for the first time that there's a better than ever chance that New Orleans will feel at least tropical storm-force winds. There was much less confidence in whether the city would get hit by hurricane-force winds.

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THURSDAY 8/28/08 5PM
Storm starts to pound Jamaica
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - At least 59 people are dead in Haiti and the Dominican Republic from the effects of Tropical Storm Gustav, which is now taking aim at Jamaica.

The storm is hitting Jamaica with tropical-storm-force winds, and forecasters say it could grow to a hurricane before hitting the capital of Kingston later in the day. Kingston's main airport is closed, and buses have stopped running.

Forecasters say parts of Jamaica could get 25 inches of rain.

As of 5 pm, Eastern time, the center of the storm was about 15 miles east-northeast of Kingston. It's moving west at about six miles an hour, with top sustained winds of near 70 miles an hour. A hurricane warning remains in effect for Jamaica, and a hurricane watch has been posted for parts of Cuba.

Grand Cayman is bracing for a possible strike tomorrow. A resort owner says Gustav doesn't look as threatening as Hurricane Ivan, which destroyed 70 percent of the island's buildings four years ago.

Along the U.S. Gulf Coast, which could be in Gustav's path, preparations are under way. Louisiana and Texas have put their national guards on standby. Officials in New Orleans say a mandatory evacuation may be necessary.

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THURSDAY 8/28/08 4PM
As Gustav nears, Gulf Coast puts faith in planning
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - With Gustav approaching hurricane strength and showing no signs of veering off a track to slam into the Gulf Coast, authorities across the region began laying the groundwork Thursday to get the sick, elderly and poor away from the shoreline.

The first batch of 700 buses that could ferry residents inland were being sent to a staging area near New Orleans, and officials in Mississippi were trying to decide when to move Katrina-battered residents along the coast who were still living in temporary homes, including trailers vulnerable to high wind.

The preliminary planning for a potential evacuation is part of a massive outline drafted after Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore three years ago, flooding 80 percent of New Orleans and stranding thousands who couldn't get out in time. As the region prepared to mark the storm's anniversary Friday, officials said they were confident those blueprints made them ready for Gustav.

With Gustav still several days away, authorities cautioned that no plans were set in stone, and had not yet called for residents to leave. Projections showed the storm arriving early next week as a Category 3 storm, with winds of 111 mph or greater, anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to eastern Texas. But forecasts are extremely tentative several days out, and the storm could change course.

Governors in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas pre-declared states of emergency in an attempt to build a foundation for federal assistance. Batteries, bottled water, and other storm supplies were selling briskly. Roughly 3,000 National Guard troops were on standby in Louisiana, and another 5,000 were readying in Texas. Hotels in the region reported being booked solid by coastal residents planning ahead.

Many residents found themselves repeating the same things they did in the days before Katrina. The New Orleans Saints were set to play the Miami Dolphins in the team's final NFL preseason game Thursday night; the Saints played their final game of the 2005 preseason just three days before Katrina. Running back Deuce McAllister, who was planning to shore up his suburban home, found it a little weird to be preparing for a possible storm again.

The city was expected to announce later Thursday whether officials would go ahead with events to mark the Katrina anniversary. Among the events that have been planned are a jazz funeral to bury remains of unidentified Katrina victims and a candlelight vigil at Jackson Square.

If a Category 3 or stronger hurricane threatens, New Orleans plans to institute a mandatory evacuation order. Depending on the churn of this system, the call could come with a slow-moving Category 2, the city's emergency preparedness director, Jerry Sneed, said.

Nagin said in interviews Wednesday that the clock on an evacuation would start three days, or 72 hours, from an anticipated landfall.

Unlike Katrina, there will be no massive shelter at the Superdome, a plan designed to encourage residents to leave.

Residents who need help - the elderly, disabled, those without their own transportation - would be moved out by buses, bound for shelters in other Louisiana cities such as Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe, and Amtrak trains headed to Jackson, Miss., officials have said. Others are expected to leave on their own by vehicle.

The city said it is prepared to move 30,000 residents; estimates put the city's current population between 310,000 to 340,000 people. There were about 454,000 here before Katrina hit.

Though officials urged residents to prepare by securing their homes, finding valuables and locating personal documents, some were taking a wait-and-see attitude. In Alabama, many tourists and residents were taking a wait-and-see attitude, and were more focused on the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

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THURSDAY 8/28/08 11AM
Tourists evacuate as Gustav grows near Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Tropical Storm Gustav surged toward hurricane force today as it drove toward Jamaica and aimed for the Cayman islands, prompting evacuations of tourists and offshore oil workers.

In its wake, impoverished Haitians scrambled for food. Meanwhile, New Orleans kept nervous watch, three years after Katrina's destruction.

Gustav - the cause of flooding and mudslides that killed 23 in Haiti and the Dominican Republic - was nearly stationary about 80 miles east of Jamaica's low-lying capital, but it was expected to run west-southwest later in the day, very close to the shore.

Its top sustained winds were just below hurricane strength at about 70 miles-per-hour.

Also today, Tropical Storm Hanna formed in the Atlantic, northeast of the northern Leeward Islands.

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WEDNESDAY 8/27/08 7PM
Officials may evacuate New Orleans as Gustav nears
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary, a nervous New Orleans watched Wednesday as another storm threatened to test everything the city has rebuilt, and officials made preliminary plans to evacuate people, pets and hospitals in an attempt to avoid a Katrina-style chaos.

Forecasters warned that Gustav could grow into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in the next several days and hit somewhere along a swath of the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Texas - with New Orleans smack in the middle.

Taking no chances, city officials began preliminary planning to evacuate and lock down the city in hopes of avoiding the catastrophe that followed the 2005 storm. Mayor Ray Nagin left the Democratic National Convention in Denver to return home for the preparations. Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency to lay the groundwork for federal assistance, and put 3,000 National Guard troops on standby.

If a Category 3 or stronger hurricane comes within 60 hours of the city, New Orleans plans to institute a mandatory evacuation order. Unlike Katrina, there will be no massive shelter at the Superdome, a plan designed to encourage residents to leave. Instead, the state has arranged for buses and trains to take people to safety.

Katrina struck New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, and its storm surge blasted through the levees that protect the city. Eighty percent of the city was flooded.

Since the storm, the Army Corps of Engineers has spent billions of dollars to improve the levee system, but because of two quiet hurricane seasons, the flood walls have never been tested.

Floodgates have been installed on drainage canals to stop any storm surge from entering the city, and levees have been raised and in many places strengthened with concrete. But they are not built to withstand a storm stronger than Katrina.

Gustav formed Monday and roared ashore Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane near the southern Haitian city of Jacmel with top winds near 90 mph, toppling palm trees and flooding the city's Victorian buildings.

The storm triggered flooding and landslides that killed 22 people in the Caribbean. It weakened into a tropical storm and appeared headed for Cuba, though it is likely to grow stronger in the coming days by drawing energy from warm open water.

Scientists cautioned that the storm's track and intensity were difficult to predict several days in advance.

But in New Orleans, there was little else to do except prepare as if it were Katrina. The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was set to begin moving animals inland to shelters in Baton Rouge on Thursday, and more would go to Texas shelters on Friday and Saturday.

In Grand Isle, tractor loads of dirt and clay mud were being hauled in to fill portions of the levee system damaged by Hurricane Katrina, said Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle. The coastal community south of New Orleans historically is one of the first to evacuate when tropical weather threatens and was hard-hit by Katrina.

Emergency preparations also were under way along Mississippi's coast. The eye of Hurricane Katrina pushed ashore near the small towns of Waveland and Bay St. Louis, Miss., and along the 70-mile coastline, roughly 65,000 homes were destroyed, and thousands of businesses and hulking casino barges were wiped out.

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WEDNESDAY 8/27/08 4PM
Nervous Gulf Coast watches brewing Gustav
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - On the cusp of Hurricane Katrina's third anniversary, nervous Gulf Coast residents watched Wednesday as a storm threatened to strengthen and crash ashore, testing everything the city has rebuilt.

Forecasters warned that Gustav had the potential to grow into a perilous Category 3 hurricane and approach the Gulf Coast by Monday morning - though cautioned that a storm's track and intensity are extremely difficult to predict several days in advance.

City officials were taking no chances, and drawing blueprints of how to evacuate the city if necessary. New Orleans plans to institute a mandatory evacuation order should a Category 3 or stronger hurricane be within 72 hours of the city.

Katrina struck New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, and its storm surge blasted through the levees that protect the city. Eighty percent of the city was flooded, which set into motion a multibillion-dollar rebuilding program.

Since then, the Army Corps of Engineers has spent billions of dollars to improve the levee system. Though experts say the city and surrounding region are safer from hurricanes, the improved levee protection is incomplete and holes remain.

Floodgates have been installed on drainage canals in New Orleans to cut off storm surge from entering the city, and levees have been raised and in many places strengthened with concrete.

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WEDNESDAY 8/27/08 12 NOON
Gustav kills 11; US Gulf Coast prepares
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Gustav swirled toward Cuba today after triggering flooding and landslides that killed at least 11 people in the Caribbean.

Its track pointed toward the U.S. Gulf coast, including Louisiana where Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc three years ago.

Oil prices continued to rise because of the threat to offshore rigs responsible for a quarter of U.S. crude production.

Gustav diminished to a tropical storm over Haiti but was still dumping heavy rains as it moved west-northwest at 5 mph, and forecasters say it could regain hurricane strength as it passes between Cuba and Jamaica. Top sustained winds were near 60 mph, with higher gusts, and the storm was centered about 110 miles west of Port-au-Prince and 125 miles southeast of Guantanamo.

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WEDNESDAY 8/27/08 10AM
Gustav kills 8 in Dominican Republic landslide
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - Authorities say eight people have died in the Dominican Republic in a landslide triggered by Hurricane Gustav.

The civil defense agency director says the victims who died overnight in the capital of Santo Domingo were members of one family. Director Luis Luna Paulino says more than 5,000 people across the country have been evacuated as a result of the storm.

Gustav also killed three people in neighboring Haiti. It is creeping toward Cuba as a tropical storm but is expected to turn into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in coming days.

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WEDNESDAY 8/27/08 8AM
Gustav floods Haiti, heads toward Cuba
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Floodwaters surged across southern Haiti today and forced hundreds of people from their homes in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, which killed at least three people before weakening to a tropical storm and creeping toward Cuba.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm could regain hurricane strength soon and forecasts suggested it could head toward the U.S. Gulf Coast as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane next week.

Gustav's maximum sustained winds were near 60 miles-per-hour this morning, with higher gusts. The storm was centered about 90 miles west of Port-au-Prince and was moving toward the northwest.

Forecasters say Gustav could become a Category 2 hurricane with winds topping 96 miles-per-hour tomorrow as it moves between Cuba and Jamaica. The long-term forecast projected winds of 120 miles-per-hour by the weekend.

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WEDNESDAY 8/27/08 5AM
Gustav weakens but could become hurricane again
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Tropical Storm Gustav stalled in the Caribbean early today a day after hitting Haiti as a hurricane.

But the National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm could regain hurricane strength later in the day or on Thursday once it moves away from Haiti.

As of 5 a.m. Eastern, Gustav's maximum sustained winds were near 60 miles-per-hour with higher gusts. The storm was centered about 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince. The storm hasn't moved much during the last few hours, but it's expected to continue moving toward the west-northwest.

As a hurricane, Gustav caused a killer landslide and dumped torrential rains on southern Haiti yesterday before weakening to a tropical storm.

Forecasters say Gustav could become a Category 2 hurricane with winds topping 96 miles-per-hour tomorrow as it moves between Cuba and Jamaica.

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TUESDAY 8/26/08 11PM
Gustav weakens to tropical storm over Haiti
MIAMI (AP) - Forecasters say Gustav has weakened to a tropical storm over Haiti.

The National Hurricane Center says the storm's maximum sustained winds dropped from hurricane-strength to 70 mph late Tuesday. But the storm's expected to get stronger later this week.

The center says the storm could become a Category 2 hurricane Thursday, with winds of 96 mph or higher, on its expected path between Cuba and Jamaica.

At 11 p.m. EDT, the storm's center was about 85 miles west of Port au Prince, Haiti. The storm was moving west-northwest near 8 mph.

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TUESDAY 8/26/08 2PM
Hurricane Gustav makes landfall in Haiti
MIAMI (AP) - Forecasters say Hurricane Gustav has made landfall on Haiti's southwest peninsula.

The Category 1 hurricane roared over Haiti at about 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday with top sustained winds of near 90 mph. The storm is moving northwest at about 10 mph, and the center is located about 40 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The fast-forming storm is sending global oil prices soaring on fears it could become "extremely dangerous" as it approaches the Gulf of Mexico.

Long-term predictions show the storm affecting either Cuba or Jamaica later this week.

The hurricane comes after Tropical Storm Fay killed 23 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic earlier this month.

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TUESDAY 8/26/08 11AM
Hurricane Gustav gaining strength south of Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Hurricane Gustav is growing rapidly as it closes in on impoverished Haiti.

At 11 a.m. Eastern time, the center of Gustav was located about 50 miles south of Port-au-Prince. It's moving toward the northwest near 9 miles-an-hour, and is packing top sustained winds near 90 miles-an-hour.

At the Port-au-Prince airport, stranded travelers mobbed the American Airlines counter, desperate to rebook tickets after the airline canceled all flights.

The storm is on track to slice along the south coast of Cuba during the week before entering the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday.

Fears that Gustav could disrupt oil drilling operations in the Gulf have sent global oil prices soaring.

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TUESDAY 8/26/08 8AM
Gustav is now a Category 1 hurricane.

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MONDAY 8/25/08 5PM
Fast-growing Gustav likely to be hurricane as it hits Haiti Tuesday morning
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Haitians are being told to prepare for evacuations, with Tropical Storm Gustav on a path to hit the country's denuded southern coast as a full hurricane tomorrow morning.

Storm warnings have been upgraded to hurricane warnings across much of Haiti's coast.

Floods and landslides are possible across Haiti's southern peninsula, and the forecasts suggest that the eye could pass very closely to the capital of Port-au-Prince, home to nearly three million people.

The National Hurricane Center says reports from an Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate the storm's top sustained winds are already nearly 60 miles-per-hour as Gustav moves northwest.

At 5 p.m. Eastern, the storm was centered about 180 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince. After striking Haiti, Gustav is forecast to move on to Cuba, the Bahamas and Florida.

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MONDAY 8/25/08 2PM
Tropical Storm Gustav forms in central Caribbean
MIAMI (AP) - The National Hurricane center says Tropical Storm Gustav has formed in the central Caribbean, and is heading for the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

At 2 p.m. Monday reports from an Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated that the storm had maximum winds near 60 mph.

Earlier in the day, when the storm was a tropical depression, forecasters said the center of the storm would be moving near or over southwestern Haiti on Tuesday.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti both issued tropical storm warnings for the southern and western parts of the island shared by the two countries.

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MONDAY 8/25/08 11AM
7th tropical depression forms in central Caribbean
MIAMI (AP) - The seventh tropical depression of the Atlantic hurricane season has formed in the central Caribbean, and is heading for the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

At 11 a.m. EDT on Monday, the center of the storm was located about 260 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The depression was moving toward the northwest near 15 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.

The National Hurricane Center predicts a gradual decrease in speed over the next day or two. Forecasters say the center of the storm will be moving near or over southwestern Haiti on Tuesday.

The Dominican Republic and Haiti have both issued tropical storm warnings for the southern and western parts of the island shared by the two countries.

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(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)