New hurricane looms as Gustav weakens in New Orleans (Lead)
September 2nd, 2008 - 7:47 am ICT by IANSWashington, Sep 2 (DPA) As hurricane Gustav faded, a sister storm called Hanna reached hurricane status late Monday and headed for southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, with Florida and eastern Cuba possible long-range targets.Gustav hit the Louisiana coast earlier Monday, where it spent much of its strength and dropped to a category 1 on the 1-to-5 Saffir-Simpson scale, the National Hurricane Centre said.
Gustav’s threat triggered one of the largest evacuations in US history, when 2 million people fled north over the weekend. It was still whipping winds of 100 kmph across New Orleans, and local officials were keeping an uneasy eye on rising water levels behind the city’s system of levees.
Heavy rainfall and high winds have pushed large masses of water against the dam system that keeps lake, sea and river waters from the low-lying city of jazz.
In Plaquemines Parish, southeast of New Orleans, parish president Bill Nungesser broadcast another warning to anyone who may have stayed behind to “immediately leave”.
He told CNN that two levees along a Mississippi River canal were “breaking” and “could flood the whole east bank in very little time.”
Hurricane Hanna was gaining steam as a category 1 storm as it “meanders over the southeast Bahamas,” weather officials said. Maximum winds were 130 kmph.
Hurricane conditions were expected within the next 24 hours in the southeastern Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
“Interests in eastern Cuba, the northwest Bahamas and the Florida peninsula should monitor the progress of this system,” the hurricane centre warned.
- More than 800,000 without power as Hurricane Irene slams Puerto Rico - Aug 22, 2011
- Hurricane Irene weakens slightly as it marches toward North Carolina - Aug 26, 2011
- Hurricane Katia strengthens into a major category four hurricane - Sep 06, 2011
- Category two hurricane Paula takes aim for Cuba - Oct 13, 2010
- Category four hurricane Hilary could threaten Baja California - Sep 24, 2011
- Earl weakens to a category three hurricane, new U.S. watches issued - Sep 01, 2010
- Ike becomes major hurricane over Caribbean - Sep 04, 2008
- Earl becomes a major category three hurricane - Aug 30, 2010
- Earl becomes a category four hurricane; Fiona forms in Atlantic - Aug 31, 2010
- Hurricane Ike weakens, 250,000 evacuated in Cuba (Lead, Changing Dateline) - Sep 08, 2008
- Hurricane Earl threatens Caribbean - Aug 30, 2010
- Insured losses in the Carolinas estimated between $200-$400 million - Aug 28, 2011
- Hurricane Irene kills four in US - Aug 28, 2011
- Caribbean swept by hurricane Ike, Florida on alert - Sep 07, 2008
- Hurricane Bill heads for Obamas' vacation island - Aug 23, 2009
Tags: bahamas weather, hurricane conditions, hurricane gustav, hurricane status, national hurricane centre, new orleans parish, plaquemines parish, saffir simpson scale, turks and caicos islands, weather officials
