GOHSEP: Hurricane Gustav

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) will keep the Crisis Action Team (CAT) activated to monitor Hurricane Gustav.

Although, Hurricane Gustav is too far out in the Atlantic to determine landfall, GOHSEP with its local, state and federal partners are closely monitoring this hurricane. GOHSEP will remain in contact with the National Weather Service (NWS) as well as the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Florida to get the most up-to-date information available on this hurricane as it progresses.

Hurricane Gustav was near 17.9N and 72.4W or about 50 miles south of Port au Prince, Haiti and about 240 miles southeast of Guantanamo, Cuba. Gustav is moving toward the northwest near 9 mph.

Maximum sustained winds are near 90 mph with higher gusts, which makes Gustav a Category 1 hurricane. Hurricanes are rated on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with Categories 3 or higher deemed ``major'' storms, with winds of 111 mph and higher.

Weather models show the storm either heading in a westerly direction toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula or steering northwest and moving into the central Gulf of Mexico by early Sunday.

“As the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina lingers in the air we want to make sure that residents of Louisiana are better prepared for the next storm,” said Mark Cooper, GOHSEP Director, “Now is the time to make sure that you have an evacuation plan and know what to bring with you if Gustav threatens the coast of Louisiana.”

For updated information visit www.ohsep.louisiana.gov