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September 2, 2008

Gustav Now Tropical Depression
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1DFCD6D:A6F02AD83191E160C1DB6C2E0E2EA46521A4E82C900CD027&
 
Levees built since Hurricane Katrina appear to have held 
A Louisiana National Guard vehicle in New Orleans, 01 Sep 2008Gustav has
been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression as it
continues across the southern U.S. state of Louisiana. Forecasters at
the National Hurricane Center in Miami say Gustav now has maximum
sustained winds of just 55 kilometers an hour. The storm is expected to
continue to slow and lose strength as it moves north and west across
western Louisiana and into the neighboring state of Texas. Forecasters
say Gustav will produce between 15 to 30 centimeters of rain over
portions of Louisiana and Texas, as well as Mississippi, Arkansas,
Missouri and Oklahoma through Thursday. Gustav has weakened considerably
since it made landfall Monday near New Orleans with winds of 175
kilometers per hour. Authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation, fearing
the city's system of flood barriers could fail. But officials say the
levees, which are still being rebuilt three years after Hurricane
Katrina, appear to have survived the onslaught of Gustav. Late Monday,
officials counted seven deaths related to the storm. New Orleans and
surrounding areas endured deadly flooding in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina
claimed more than 1,400 lives and caused billions of dollars in damage.
The federal government, as well as state and local officials, were
widely criticized for being unprepared for the disaster. Last week,
Gustav crossed over Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, killing
at least 94 people. The storm also caused property damage in Cuba, but
no deaths were reported.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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