Hurricane Gustav
- Filed under: Uncategorized
- Date: Aug 26,2008
Hurricane Gustav barreled toward vulnerable Haiti on Tuesday and appeared set to become a “major” storm later in the week as it neared the Gulf of Mexico where the United States produces a large amount of oil and gas.
The 7th storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season had top sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (140 km per hour) by 5 a.m. EDT, making it a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of storm intensity, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Gustav was likely to become a Category 2 storm before striking the southwestern peninsula of impoverished Haiti later on Tuesday and then move westward south of Cuba over deep warm waters that provide tropical cyclones with fuel.
The fast-forming storm was also on track to hit Cuba.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the hurricane’s maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph (140 kph) with higher gusts. A Category 2 hurricane has winds of 96 mph (154 kph) or higher.
Haitians were told to prepare for evacuations as the storm formed Monday in the Caribbean. Haiti upgraded storm warnings to hurricane warnings along much of its coast as Gustav closed in from the south. A warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours.
Forecasters said storm preparations in Haiti should be rushed to completion and that floods and landslides were possible across its southern peninsula. The forecasts suggested Gustav’s eye could pass near the capital of Port-au-Prince, home to nearly 3 million people. Hurricane Gustav is surging toward Haiti’s capital, Port-Au-Prince, with winds of about 85 mph with higher gusts.
Carnival Cruise Lines has already diverted one of its ships to Mexico to get away from the storm.Gustav continued to gain strength after becoming a hurricane early Tuesday. Forecasters said it could become a Category 2 hurricane before hitting Haiti’s southern coast Tuesday.
At 2 a.m. ET Tuesday, the storm had sustained winds of up to 70 miles an hour (110 km / hour). Its center was about 130 miles (210 km) south-southeast of Port au Prince, Haiti, the hurricane center said.
Authorities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic issued hurricane warnings for the southern parts of those countries. The warning covered an area from Barahona, Dominican Republic west to Le Mole St. Nicholas, Haiti, the hurricane center said.
Forecasters expect the storm to make landfall in Haiti on Tuesday and hit the southeastern tip of Cuba on Wednesday. They predict it will continue moving to the northwest and say it could dump rain on parts of central and southern Florida by Saturday.
Parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic were battered less than two weeks ago by Tropical Storm Fay. At least 10 people died in Haiti as the storm swept through.
Gustav is the seventh named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
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