Overview of Gustav
Picture of Hurricane Gustav as it makes landfall on coastal
Louisiana |
The second major hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season,
Hurricane Gustav, made landfall along the Louisiana coast on September
1, 2008 near the unincorporated village of Cocodrie in Terrebonne
Parish. Clocking in at just 1 mph below a category 3 hurricane, this
category 2 storm downgraded to a tropical storm as it made its way
through central Louisiana. On September 3, Gustav had diminished in
strength and moved into Arkansas.
Before making landfall in the US, Gustav caused severe destruction and
casualties throughout the Caribbean, Cuba and then eventually the same
in the United States. As of September 5, 132 deaths had been attributed
to Gustav in the U.S. and Caribbean, and damage is predicted at 22
billion.
Damage to coastal, central and northwest Louisiana is extensive. Wind,
rain and flood damage is widespread. As Gustav moved into central
Louisiana, several tornadoes were spawned, causing death and injury near Mamou, Louisiana in the early hours of September 3.
On September 3, nearly 1.9 million people were without power in
Louisiana. Nearly 2 million people evacuated southern Louisiana, and the
entire city of New Orleans was under mandatory evacuation.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana was hit hard by the storm’s winds, rain and
flooding, which led to power outages, rescue efforts, extensive
structural damages and hundreds of downed trees. In central Louisiana
massive power outages, flooding and wind damage occurred. Reports of
16.37 to 19.17 inches of rain fell in central Louisiana parishes,
impairing recovery efforts, and water supplies.
Within the cities of Alexandria and Pineville, flood waters in some
areas were as deep as four feet. In Northwest Louisiana, heavy winds and
rains causes widespread flooding, power outages and downed trees. 34
Louisiana parishes have been declared as disaster areas by President
Bush.
Picture of Cocodrie, Louisiana pre-Gustav
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Picture of Hurricane Gustav prior to landfall in Cocodrie,
Louisiana (image supplied by Weatherunderground) |
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