Gustav leaves Cuba, approaches Gulf of Mexico
2008-09-01 01:37:51 GMT2008-09-01 09:37:51 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English
People walk past a destroyed car as Hurricane Gustav passes in Los Palacios, 100 km (62 miles) west of Havana August 30, 2008. The Category 4 storm swept across Cuba in a matter of hours and now poses a threat to Gulf oil fields on a projected path that could take it ashore near New Orleans, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
A car runs on the flooded street in Havana, Aug. 31, 2008. Hurricane Gustav churned into western Cuba Aug. 30, damaging many houses and breaking off local supply of electricity, water, gas and communication systems. The hurricane weakened on Aug. 31. (Xinhua Photo)
Residents board a bus to evacuate New Orleans, Louisiana, ahead of Hurricane Gustav August 31, 2008. Hurricane Gustav churned toward the Louisiana coast through the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico on Sunday with strength that could rival 2005's Hurricane Katrina, prompting low-lying New Orleans to begin evacuation.
A man works cleaning an area of cultivation of bananas fallen, after the eye of Hurricane Gustav passes in Cienfuegos August 30, 2008. Ferocious Hurricane Gustav moved into the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico on Saturday where it was expected to strengthen and threaten New Orleans after its 150 mile per hour (240 kph) winds cut a swath of destruction through western Cuba. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
HAVANA, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Hurricane Gustav is on its way out of Cuba and headed northwest toward the Gulf of Mexico, the Cuban Meteorological Institute said Sunday.
Gustav, a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 205 km per hour, would affect Cuba till midday Sunday with cloudbursts, rain and strong winds, it said.
Gustav will also likely affect Mexico's oil platforms in the Gulf during its trajectory to Louisiana in the United States.
According to the U.S. National Center of Hurricanes, the eye of the hurricane at 1500 GMT was in the southwest Gulf of Mexico, some 520 km from the Mississippi river outlet.
Gustav's passage through the Caribbean has left a trail of death and destruction, with at least 86 people killed in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.
In Cuba, the hurricane swept through the western part of the island from south to north with 240 km-per-hour winds and gusts of up to 340 km per hour. Many have been injured and the damages are yet to be estimated.
