Gustav kills 59 in Caribbean, aims at US
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Tropical Storm Gustav hit Jamaica with near hurricane-force winds overnight, after killing at least 59 people elsewhere in the Caribbean.
The storm was taking aim at New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico oil fields.
As Gustav churned through the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Hanna formed in the Atlantic Ocean with 65-kilometre-per-hour winds and on a track that could take it toward the Bahamas and Florida, also next week, the US National Hurricane Centre said.
Energy companies prepared for Gustav to deliver potentially the hardest hit to the heart of the US Gulf oil patch since the devastating 2005 hurricane season.
Crude futures rose more than $US2 to $US120.50 a barrel before falling back as Gustav aimed deep into the heavy concentration of oil and natural gas platforms off Louisiana and Texas.
Prices eased after the US Energy Department said it was prepared to open its emergency oil supply and the International Energy Agency said member nations were ready to release strategic oil stocks in the event of significant supply disruptions in an area that provides the United States with a quarter of its crude oil and 15 per cent of its natural gas.
New Orleans, the Southern US city devastated by Hurricane Katrina three years ago, remained near the middle of the range of possible landfall locations on the US Gulf coast.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal put New Orleans residents on alert for possible evacuations from Friday (local time), the third anniversary of Katrina's strike, and issued a precautionary disaster declaration.
A state of emergency was declared in neighbouring Mississippi, which was also devastated by Katrina.
- Reuters
