N.O Residents Return To Homes

NEW ORLEANS — With thousands of residents stacked up at entrances to this city, impatient to return home after evacuating for Hurricane Gustav, Mayor C. Ray Nagin shifted course on Wednesday and ordered an immediate lifting of barriers blocking their entry here.

People began trickling back to hot, dark homes on the emptied streets by Wednesday afternoon, as the city — and much of the state — is still mostly without electric power. Despite angry blasts from Gov. Bobby Jindal and even a plea from President Bush, utility officials gave no word on when electricity would be restored. But some residents said they had no choice but return, the intense heat and humidity here notwithstanding.

The return had been scheduled for early Thursday, but Mr. Nagin’s unexpected action was forced by a slow-moving humanitarian crisis, as residents, many of modest means in this poor city, reported running out of money to sustain a prolonged evacuation.

The media (and perhaps meteorologists) over-hyped Gustav. Don't get me wrong...living for days without electricity sucks, but I seriously thought the outcome would be much worse.

Better Evacuate in Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 31 -- Emergency officials prepared Sunday for massive traffic backups as thousands of residents of New Orleans and coastal areas continued to follow mandatory evacuations ahead of Hurricane Gustav, which swelled from an already deadly tropical storm into a monster depression that was packing winds of more than 120 mph. - The Washington Post

Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, called Gustav the "mother of all storms."

Oil Industry Shuts Down For Gustav

New York - With tropical storm Gustav threatening to become a monster hurricane, the oil and gas industry is starting to batten down the hatches on its giant rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Already, many of the companies have evacuated roughnecks and geologists and are preparing to turn off the oil and gas deep under water.

On Thursday, Shell Oil Company, which produces about one third of the oil in the Gulf, said it had evacuated 400 workers with another 600 due out on Friday and Saturday. It was in the process of turning off the equivalent of 510,000 barrels of oil.

Any disruption of the oil and gas flow could eventually result in higher prices at the pump much as it did after hurricane Katrina. In recent days, the price of oil has moved up in anticipation of the storm but fell back on Thursday after some governmental organizations said they would release oil from stockpiles if there were disruptions. - Christian Science Monitor

Just...Just as $3.50 nears...

Louisiana Hurricane Emergency

(CNN) -- Tropical Storm Gustav's impending arrival in the Gulf of Mexico, potentially as a major hurricane, has prompted Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to declare an emergency for the state.

"We are going to hope for the best, but we're preparing for the worst," Jindal said Wednesday.

The move puts Louisiana in position to receive federal disaster assistance. Jindal also said 3,000 National Guard members will be deployed to vulnerable areas in Louisiana on Thursday to assist with securing shelters and preparing for possible evacuations.

Jindal cited forecasts that Gustav, which killed 22 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic this week, could become a Category 3 hurricane in the coming days and hit the Gulf Coast by late Monday morning.

Let's pray that this is not Katrina Part Deux.