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Gustav leaves Cuba, approaches Gulf of Mexico

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-01 10:32

HAVANA -- Hurricane Gustav is on its way out of Cuba and headed northwest toward the Gulf of Mexico, the Cuban Meteorological Institute said Sunday.

Residents make their way through a street damaged after the Hurricane Gustav hit in the area Consolacion del Sur, Cuba, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008. Cubans returned from shelters to find flooded homes and washed-out roads Sunday, but no deaths were reported after a monstrous Hurricane Gustav roared across the island and into the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico. [Agencies]

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.

Related readings:  New Orleans evacuates ahead of powerful Gustav  New Orleans residents flee Gustav's path  Gustav slams Cuba as Category 4 storm  Hurricane Gustav swirls toward Caymans, Gulf

According to the US 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.