Hurricane
Gustav is weakening but continues to hit the southern U.S. state of Louisiana
with winds of 145 kilometers per hour.
Gustav came ashore (Monday) about 110 kilometers southwest of New
Orleans. It made landfall as a Category Two storm with winds of 175 kilometers
per hour, but has since weakened to a Category One storm. Forecasters
say Gustav will continue to weaken as it moves over land across central
Louisiana, toward eastern Texas.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin cautioned that the storm is not over and the city
is not out of danger. He said the next few hours are critical, as Gustav
continues to pour rain on the city and test the strength of its levees.
Officials say they believe the barriers will hold, preventing the deadly
flooding the city endured in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, which claimed more
than 14-hundred lives.
Meanwhile to the east, the government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane
warning for the central and southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos
islands. Hurricane Hanna is churning in the southeastern Bahamas, with winds
near 120 kilometers per hour.