| August 29, 2008 Deadly Gustav threatens Caymans
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(NECN/ABC) - Gustav plowed right across the island of Jamaica overnight, uprooting trees, ripping down power lines and damaging houses in its path.
The storm had been expected to track way north of Jamaica, but a last minute change of direction had it slamming right into the island, giving local people little time to prepare.
Some people rushed out to buy emergency supplies, and tourists tried to get on last minute flights before the airports were all shut down mid-afternoon Thursday. As the storm hit the government evacuated some people to emergency shelters: but even one of these shelters had its roof torn off by the high winds.
Gustav lost some of its strength as it crossed land in Jamaica, but is expected to regain force once it is back over open water - it is next headed towards the Caymans and the western tip of Cuba, where locals are bracing for its arrival. Already over 60 people have been killed by Gustav in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Forecasters warn it could be a Category Three Hurricane by the time it hits somewhere along the US Gulf Coast early next week. Already governors of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have protectively declared states of emergency and mobilized National Guard troops.
Gustav has been a very unpredictable storm, and forecasters say it is still too early to tell exactly where it will make landfall in the US - many residents of the Gulf Coast will have an anxious weekend as they watch the storm approach.
Terry
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