[enforcer]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080830/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/tropical_weather

Quote:

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands - Hurricane Gustav plowed through the Cayman Islands toward Cuba, gathering strength on a journey 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 swirled through the Caymans overnight with fierce winds that tore down trees and power lines. It was expected to cross Cuba's cigar country Saturday and head into the Gulf of Mexico by Sunday. Gustav struck Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, the smaller easternmost "Sister Islands" in the chain. Storm surge and heavy rains flooded the streets as people hunkered down in darkness at home or government shelters. "We're just trying to wait it out," said Juliana O'Connor-Connolly, who represents the islands in the Cayman legislature, by cell phone from the kitchen of her farm on Cayman Brac. She said about 40 people were riding out the storm in her home, which at 65 feet (20 meters) elevation is safe from flooding but still vulnerable to winds that ripped out hundreds of fruit trees on the farm. "The wind is just tremendous," O'Connor-Connolly said at the height of the storm. "They say it's 80 mph but it certainly seems to be over 100 mph, and I've been through lots of storms." Late Friday night, Gustav was centered 25 miles (40 kilometers) west-southwest of Little Cayman Island and moving northwest near 10 mph (17 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Top winds were about 80 mph (130 kph). Authorities did not impose a curfew but urged people to remain indoors to avoid interfering with emergency workers. Hotels asked guests to leave and, after the airport closed, prepared to shelter those who remained. Chris Smith, of Frederick, Maryland, said his hotel handed out wrist bands marked with guests' names and room numbers so that "if something happens they can quickly identify us." "That was a little bit sobering," he said, standing outside the hotel with his luggage. The storm killed four people in a daylong 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 helicopters Friday to rescue 31 people trapped by floods. At least 59 people died in Haiti and eight in the Dominican Republic. The hurricane center 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 US$5 a gallon. Crude oil prices ended slightly lower in a volatile session as some traders feared supply disruptions and others bet the U.S. government will release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Gustav was projected to hit Cuba's Isle of Youth, then cross the main island into the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday night or Sunday. Cuban state television announced that effective Saturday, all buses and trains to and from Havana will be suspended until further notice. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Hanna was projected to curl westward into the Bahamas by early next week. It had sustained winds near 50 mph (85 kph) late Friday. Along the U.S. Gulf Coast, most commemorations of the Katrina anniversary were canceled because of Gustav, but in New Orleans a horse-drawn carriage took the bodies of Katrina's last seven unclaimed victims to burial. President Bush declared an emergency in Louisiana, a move that allows the federal government to coordinate disaster relief and provide assistance in storm-affected areas. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said an evacuation order was likely, though not before Saturday, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it expects a "huge number" of Gulf Coast residents will be told to leave the region this weekend. Closer to the storm, workers at the Westin Causarina Hotel on Grand Cayman island shored up ground-floor rooms with sandbags. "We've taken in all the balcony furniture, all the pool furniture, the marquees, tied up what needs to be tied up, cut down any coconuts," said hotel manager Dan Szydlowski.

[enforcer]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080829/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices;_ylt=Ag_xP0s3LBfEuY9PHEV2E2WyBhIF

Quote:

NEW YORK - Retail gas prices swung higher Friday — the first increase in 43 days — as analysts warned that a direct hit on U.S. energy infrastructure by Hurricane Gustav could send pump prices hurtling toward $5 a gallon. Meanwhile, oil prices ended the day slightly lower, falling for a second straight session. But prices fluctuated sharply as some traders feared supply disruptions and others bet the government will release supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if Gustav wreaks havoc in the Gulf of Mexico area — home to a quarter of U.S. crude supplies and 40 percent of refining capacity. Gustav, which regained hurricane strength Friday, was spinning away from Jamaica on a course toward Gulf Coast states including Louisiana — three years to the day since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the state and tore up oil rigs and refineries. Fears of another monster storm have sent wholesale gasoline prices shooting up in the Gulf region, forcing filling stations to pass on the costs by raising pump prices ahead of Labor Day weekend. A gallon of regular gasoline jumped about a penny overnight to a national average of $3.669, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. That's the first increase since prices peaked at an average $4.114 a gallon on July 17, an all-time high. Jeff Rubin, chief economist at investment bank CIBC World Markets, said that record could be shattered if Gustav seriously disrupts offshore energy production. In 2005, pump prices jumped from slightly more than $2 a gallon to above $3 after Katrina and Hurricane Rita destroyed more than 100 oil platforms and damaged several refineries. "The price consequences could be even worse this time," Rubin said in a report, noting that oil and gasoline inventories are lower than when Katrina and Rita hit. "Any replays of the 2005 storm season could see gasoline prices soar to $5 per gallon." Gustav was moving northwest of Jamaica toward the Cayman Islands after triggering floods and killing 59 people in Haiti and eight more in the Dominican Republic. Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 13 cents to settle $115.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier rising as high as $118.76. On Thursday, prices fell $2.56 at $115.59 a barrel, the first time this week it closed lower. Analysts attributed the volatility to doubts over whether Gustav will affect offshore energy production, as well as speculation that the Energy Department will tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve should the storm threatens supplies. "Until this hurricane hits, the trend has to be higher toward the $120 level," said Jonathan Kornafel, Asia director for brokerage Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. "If this turns out to be a nonevent, the market could really come roaring back down." As Gustav advanced, oil companies were pulling employees off installations. Royal Dutch Shell PLC has evacuated nearly 670 workers. BP PLC was also removing personnel from the region, while Exxon Mobil said it was bracing its structures for heavy wind and rain. Transocean Inc., the world's largest offshore drilling contractor, said Friday it had evacuated about 400 workers from 11 offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf. Transocean still has 1,150 workers in the region. Weather research firm Planalytics predicted as much as 80 percent of the Gulf's oil and gas production could be shut down as a precaution if Gustav enters the region as a major storm. Forecasters said Gustav might slip between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and the western tip of Cuba on Sunday, then march toward a Tuesday collision with the U.S. Gulf Coast — anywhere from south Texas to the Florida panhandle. "It seems there will be at the very least a slight hit to production," Kornafel said. "But everything is up in the air until Monday or Tuesday." Gustav is the first storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season to pose a serious threat to offshore oil and gas installations in the Gulf. Some analysts, however, noted that lower appetite for oil products in the United States could well dampen Gustav's effect on the Gulf area's oil output. "U.S. oil demand is currently 1.6 million barrels a day lower than when Katrina struck," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland. "There is today more U.S. refining capacity offline for economic reasons than can be destroyed by Gustav." In other Nymex trading, heating oil lost 0.07 cent to settle at $3.1819 a gallon, while gasoline fell 1.15 cents to settle at $3.0099 a gallon. Natural gas fell 10.7 cents to settle at $7.943 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, October Brent crude fell 12 cents to settle at $114.05 a barrel.

[enforcer]

http://www.nola.com/

Quote:

"You cannot protect yourself against what Mother Nature is going to throw at us"

[lateralus4885]

serious fucken business

[ShawnO]

The radar photo makes Gustav look just as bad as Katrina did. The folks in LA, MS, and TX seem to have some shitty luck lately, in terms of being hit with strong hurricanes. Also, Hurricane Hanna has already formed near the Bahamas. I'm guessing it's heading right for Florida...another state that has had bad luck so far this season. Hurricane Fay made sure she covered the entire state of Florida.

[Volture]

I heard on the news bulletin during Raw that atleast 7 deaths happened today. 5 of which were traffic related