Gustav batters US Gulf coast

Hurricane Gustav made landfall this morning and will be pounding a oil refinery-rich area of southern Louisiana throughout the day. Gustav is still a powerful Category 2 hurricane and is expected to retain hurricane strength overland until sometime tonight.

Levees along New Orleans' Industrial Canal are currently being splashed over and in some areas water is flowing over the concrete barriers. The canal is expected to crest in the next few hours. This was the same waterway that was breeched during Hurricane Katrina.

Experts are worried that levees on the city's west bank, which escaped major damage from Katrina are vulnerable as they did not undergo strengthening like the Industrial Canal levees.

The hardest-hit areas contain some of America's most important oil and gas infrastructure and reports of damage may not come in fully for a day or two.

ABC News

Hurricane Gustav tests New Orleans levees
Swissinfo, Switzerland - 34 minutes ago
By Tim Gaynor and Matthew Bigg NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Hurricane Gustav barged ashore on the US Gulf Coast just west of New Orleans on Monday, hammering the ...
* Center of weaker Gustav moves ashore on US Gulf coast Reuters UK
Levees withstand Gustav's charge into Louisiana Chicago Tribune
FEMA: Gustav to be a catastrophic storm The Associated Press

Play Raw Video: Gustav batters The Big Easy AP via Yahoo! News - Sep 01 6:09 AM