World News Blog

Monday, September 01, 2008

Gustav batters US Gulf coast

Hurricane Gustav made landfall this morning and will be pounding a oil refinery-rich area of southern Louisiana throughout the day. Gustav is still a powerful Category 2 hurricane and is expected to retain hurricane strength overland until sometime tonight.

Levees along New Orleans' Industrial Canal are currently being splashed over and in some areas water is flowing over the concrete barriers. The canal is expected to crest in the next few hours. This was the same waterway that was breeched during Hurricane Katrina.

Experts are worried that levees on the city's west bank, which escaped major damage from Katrina are vulnerable as they did not undergo strengthening like the Industrial Canal levees.

The hardest-hit areas contain some of America's most important oil and gas infrastructure and reports of damage may not come in fully for a day or two.

ABC News

Hurricane Gustav tests New Orleans levees
Swissinfo, Switzerland - 34 minutes ago
By Tim Gaynor and Matthew Bigg NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Hurricane Gustav barged ashore on the US Gulf Coast just west of New Orleans on Monday, hammering the ...
* Center of weaker Gustav moves ashore on US Gulf coast Reuters UK
Levees withstand Gustav's charge into Louisiana Chicago Tribune
FEMA: Gustav to be a catastrophic storm The Associated Press

Play Raw Video: Gustav batters The Big Easy AP via Yahoo! News - Sep 01 6:09 AM

Labels: hurricane gustav, oil and gas infrastructure

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Gustav's path becoming clearer

Hurricane Gustav continued to move ominously toward the Louisiana coast where mandatory evacuations are underway.

Although intensity forecasts have been erratic, currently Gustav is expected to make landfall as a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane. Probably even more important than its absolute strength is the location of the landfall. Gustav's right flank will batter the city of New Orleans pushing the storm surge directly into Lake Ponchartrain. This did not occur during Katrina when the storm passed to the east of New Orleans.

Also, Gustav's east flank will threaten the west bank of New Orleans, where levees are considered particularly vulnerable. The west bank largely escaped Hurricane Katrina's fury.

Like Katrina, Gustav is a massive storm with hurricane force winds currently extending 40 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds reaching out 200 miles.

CTV.ca

Gustav to test lessons of Katrina
CNNMoney.com - 37 minutes ago
Gustav, a Category 3 storm after raking through Cuba on Saturday, is expected to strengthen as it gets closer to the US coast. Forecasters predict it will ...
Hurricane Gustav affecting Mid-Michigan WLNS
Gustav could cost you $5 a gallon at the pumps BloggingStocks
Gustav Could Hit US Oil Rigs In Gulf Harder Than Katrina, Rita AHN

Labels: hurricane, hurricane gustav, hurricane katrina, lanke ponchartrain, louisiana, new orleans

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Gulf oil rigs also threatened by Gustav

Hurricane Gustav is now a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane threatening western Cuba, and is expected to reemerge in the Gulf possibly reaching Category 5 strength, the most powerful type of hurricane.

While it is still uncertain whether the hurricane will impact the U.S. Gulf coast, two models for example have shown Gustav turning away to the West before landfall, all models agree that the important Gulf oil rigs are seriously threatened.

Significant damage to the oil rigs could send oil and fuel prices skyrocketing again. A serious oil spill could impact the U.S. presidential debate on new offshore oil drilling that has captured headlines recently during the campaign.

Map of Gulf Oil Rigs showing tracks of Hurricanes Rita and
Katrina (Foots Forecast)

http://static.flickr.com/79/225471352_7e008be563.jpg

Five-day Projected Track of Hurricane Gustav (NOAA)
[Image of 5-day forecast of predicted track, and coastal areas under a warning or a watch]

Click Here for a Printer Friendly Graphic

In addition to hurricane damage, Gustav may stall over Louisiana and/or Texas causing major flooding problems.

Folks in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana are taking no chances. Mass evacuations are currently underway.

Labels: gulf coast, hurricane gustav, louisiana, oil prices, oil rigs, texas