Hurricane Gustav heads towards Hispaniola by Alex Deakin
Tropical storm Gustav intensified on Tuesday morning to become the third hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane season.
At 0600 GMT on Tuesday, Gustav was located about 130 miles (210 km) southeast of Haiti and was moving on a northwesterly track at around 12mph (19km/h). The hurricane is in a category one stage with sustained winds of around 80mph (130km/h). The National Hurricane Center is warning that Gustav is likely to intensify further to become a major category three storm as it continues its journey over the warm Caribbean Sea towards western Cuba by this weekend.
Hurricane warnings are now in force across Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba and officials have begun preparing for evacuations and moving livestock to safe locations. Forecasters at The National Hurricane Center warned that Gustav could produce rainfall of 125 to 180mm (5 to 6 inches) with the possibility of up to 600mm (24 inches) across isolated mountainous areas, leading to severe flooding and mudslides.
Haiti is still recovering from tropical storm Fay which crossed the Hispaniola islands last week, killing more than 50 people and causing widespread flash flooding. With the ground already saturated – further torrential rain from Hurricane Gustav could produce devastating floods.
Although not certain at this time, some forecasters predict that Gustav might enter the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico by Sunday and intensify further. Gulf Coast residents are being warned to monitor the hurricane’s progress, as it could pose a major threat.
