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Gustav has Cuba, New Orleans in its sight

HAVANA: Hurricane Gustav swelled into a “dangerous’ category three hurricane on Saturday as it bore down on Cuba after ripping through the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica, killing 85 people.

Cuba’s western province of Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth in the south were put on the highest level of weather alert. Thousands of residents were asked to leave their homes in advance of Gustav, which was forecast to hit Cuba on Saturday. “It will produce a storm surge and torrential rains in the western part of the country,” warned Cuban meteorologist Jose Rubiera. Cuba’s President Raul Castro on Friday verified the preventive actions taken to face Gustav. In Pinar del Rio, he talked to officials about preventive action plan, and said he was confident in the people’s training to face the hurricane, according to a TV news bulletin. Gustav was moving northwest at around 19 km per hour. If it keeps its present course, it could hit Louisiana — the same state hard-hit by Katrina — in the early hours of Tuesday.

In New Orleans, U.S., officials began evacuating residents and considered mandatory evacuations to prevent a repeat of the devastation and deaths of 2005. U.S. President George W. Bush declared on Friday a state of emergency in Louisiana and Texas — enhancing their access to disaster relief coordination and funding. — Agencies

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