A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for New Orleans as Hurricane Gustav moves into the Gulf of Mexico and bears down on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The storm is currently packing sustained winds of 120mph and as it moves into the Gulf many of the 3,500 plus oil rigs and platforms are evacuating workers to safety. More than 75% of gulf oil production is on lockdown. The graphic below shows the density of oil platforms in the path of Gustav.
On it’s current track it looks likely that there will be some severe disruption to the oil platforms. How much damage it could cause to oil and gas production is largely unknown as many improvements were made to platforms post Katrina and this is the first real test of their resilience.
The worry for New Orleans and the gulf coast is not just from the winds associated with Hurricane Gustav but also from the potential for a massive storm surge. The graphic below shows the areas of the coast which are most at risk from a damaging storm surge.
Remember you can track Hurricane Gustav on our website.
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