Orkaan Gustav (cat.3) op ramkoers met Louisiana

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Tropical Storm Gustav was losing steam early Wednesday as it moved through the Caribbean a day after hitting Haiti as a hurricane.

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

As of 2 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Gustav's maximum sustained winds had decreased to 60 mph with higher gusts. The storm was centered about 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince and moving toward the west-northwest near 5 mph.

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

Rising water threatened Haiti's crops amid protests over high food prices, and oil prices rose on fears the storm could batter oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm lingered into the night over Haiti's poor, deforested southern peninsula, and water levels were rising in banana, bean and vegetable fields. One man was killed in a landslide in the mountain town of Benet, civil protection director Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste told Radio Metropole.

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — As Tropical Storm Gustav moves away from Haiti, the Louisiana and Texas coasts are preparing for a date with a possible Category 2 or 3 hurricane as the storm could regain strength later in the day or on Thursday.

The threat of a hurricane slamming the Gulf Coast comes as the region nears the anniversary of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In a news conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said he could declare a state of emergency by Thursday and warned residents to be prepared.

"Be ready, now's the time to review your plans," Jindal said. "This is a serious storm."

Gustav stalled in the Caribbean early Wednesday a day after hitting Haiti as a hurricane.

As of 5 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Gustav's maximum sustained winds were near 60 mph with higher gusts. The storm was centered about 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince. The storm had not moved much during the last few hours, the hurricane center said. But it was expected to continue moving toward the west-northwest.

Jamaica issued a tropical storm warning Wednesday and also remained under a hurricane watch along with the Cayman Islands. A watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours.

A hurricane warning was in effect for parts of Cuba including the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay. A warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours.

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

Rising water threatened Haiti's crops amid protests over high food prices, and oil prices rose on fears the storm could batter oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm lingered into the night over Haiti's poor, deforested southern peninsula, and water levels were rising in banana, bean and vegetable fields. One man was killed in a landslide in the mountain town of Benet, civil protection director Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste told Radio Metropole.

Cars pushed through standing water in the streets of Port-au-Prince, as fallen trees and landslides blocked a major road out of the capital.

Hundreds of people in coastal Les Cayes ignored government warnings to seek shelter, instead throwing rocks to protest the high cost of living in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Witnesses said U.N. peacekeepers used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Haiti is a tinderbox because of soaring food prices, which in April led to deadly protests and the ouster of the nation's prime minister. It was difficult to ascertain the extent of the damage from the hurricane to the nation's crops on Tuesday because of Haiti's poor infrastructure and faulty communications.

"If the rain continues, we'll be flooded," U.N. food consultant Jean Gardy said Tuesday from the southeastern town of Marigot.

Forecasters said Gustav could become a Category 2 hurricane with winds topping 96 mph Thursday as it moves between Cuba and Jamaica.

After Haiti, a strengthening Gustav was projected to sideswipe Cuba's southern coastline all week before entering the central gulf on Sunday.

Forecasters were reluctant to predict the storm's path beyond the weekend.

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Op donderdag 28 augustus 2008 08:56 schreef zkr623 het volgende:
knip

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Tropische storm Gustav eist tientallen levens

PORT-AU-PRINCE/SANTO DOMINGO/NEW ORLEANS - De tropische storm Gustav die door het Caribisch gebied raast, heeft op Hispaniola aan ten minste 23 mensen het leven gekost.

In Haïti vielen zeker vijftien doden, in de Dominicaanse Republiek zeker acht, onder wie zeker zes kinderen, aldus de plaatselijke autoriteiten woensdag (plaatselijke tijd). Duizenden inwoners van Hispaniola zijn geëvacueerd.

Gustav is op weg naar Cuba en lijkt in kracht toe te nemen en via de olievelden in de Golf van Mexico af te stevenen op de Amerikaanse stad New Orleans. De gouverneur van de staat Louisiana heeft al de noodtoestand afgekondigd en de evacuatie van kustgebieden gelast.

New Orleans werd in 2005 verwoest door de orkaan Katrina. Daardoor kwamen zo'n 1500 mensen om het leven.

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NEW ORLEANS — 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 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.

"I'm panicking," said Evelyn Fuselier of Chalmette, whose home was submerged in 14 feet of floodwater when Katrina hit. Fuselier said she has been back in her home one year this month, and called watching Gustav swirl toward the Gulf of Mexico indescribable. "'Is my house going to flood again?' ... 'Am I going to have to go through all this again?,"' she asked.

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 planned to leave the Democratic National Convention in Denver to return home for the preparations, as did U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu. Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency to lay the groundwork for federal assistance, and put 3,000 National Guard troops on standby.

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, a plan designed to encourage residents to leave. Instead, the state has arranged for buses and trains to take people to safety.

It was unclear what would happen to stragglers. Jerry Sneed, the city's emergency preparedness director, said officials are ready to move about 30,000 people. Nearly 8,000 people had signed up for transportation