Hurricane Gustav Heading for US Gulf Coast, New Orleans Braces on Katrina Anniversary
Related subjects: Extreme Weather Events, Hurricane Katrina, J.E. Robertson, U.S. Environment Comments Off
Three years to the day after the catastrophe that was Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, Hurricane Gustav appeared to be heading for the US coast of the Gulf of Mexico, approaching category 4 status. The city of New Orleans is, as a result, actively bracing for a direct hit and possible storm surge. Mandatory evacuations officially began at 8am Saturday, with the city providing assistance to those leaving their homes.
Mayor Ray Nagin, who was on the job during the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina, has told citizens of New Orleans, “You need to be scared”, in announcing the mandatory evacuation order. He also said the goal is to evacuate “one hundred percent” of the city’s population, shutting down all of its services and businesses, so that no one is left stranded. He called Gustav “the storm of the century” and told residents that anyone who stays behind, “You are on your own… there will be no services”.
The west bank areas were ordered to begin evacuation at 8am, and for everyone to be out by 12 noon. The east bank areas were ordered to evacuate starting at 12 noon. Gustav slammed into Cuba with sustained winds of over 150 mph, and is expected to intensify to category 5 status before it reaches the Gulf coast, somewhere between Alabama and the Texas coast.
Computer storm-tracking simulators project Gustav will make landfall along the Louisiana coast, likely blanketing the entire coast, with the strongest winds making a direct hit on the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas. Some projections show the storm moving to the west. Pres. Bush has declared federal states of emergency for Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, to facilitate the deployment of higher numbers of National Guard and other military and emergency management personnel to oversee the evacuation and relief efforts.
[ad#cafsen-intext]
The rebuilding and upgrade of the levees and canal system that keeps low-lying New Orleans safe from rising waters is not scheduled to be completed until 2011, raising concerns that some points of the system could fail in the face of a catastrophic storm surge. Both Katrina and Rita were category 5 storms when they made landfall in 2005, and Gustav is said to be likely to be a very powerful category 5 storm after it passes over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
CNN was showing on Saturday large numbers of people trying to escape the city as the National Guard moves in and helps to coordinate a massive evacuation effort, in which many individuals expressed confusion but the process was regimented and organized. Many boarded buses without having been given any cleaer instructions as to where they will be taken.
By Sunday morning, reports suggested some motorists were concerned the massive flow of traffic out of the city meant they may not have enough gas to get to their destinations. Many reported to CNN that gas stations lining the highways were closed, though motorists were reminded the pumps may still operate and take credit cards.
The latest information from the National Weather Service, projects that Gustav will be a category 4 storm with winds of 145 mph early Monday morning, before making landfall along the entire Louisiana coast. It will be those crucial hours just before the heavy winds along the northern edge of the spiraling storm make landfall that will determine just how hard Gustav hits the coast. Having cleared Cuba and the Yucutan peninsula, the storm is now “entering a minimal shear environment”, where there is little landmass that can break up the storm’s whirling shape.
CafeSentido Partner Sites: