* Utilities from the Florida Panhandle to Texas were mobilizing hard hats to respond once the storm makes landfall. Entergy — with 2.7 million customers in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas — has 8,000 workers, contractors and crews from other utilities ready, said an Entergy Texas spokesman.
* The Port of New Orleans shut down as the Coast Guard closed the lower Mississippi River.
* The Louisiana Chemical Association said most of the 40 to 50 chemical plants in hurricane-vulnerable areas had shut down. Edward Flynn, the trade association’s safety and security director, said 20 to 25 percent of domestic chemicals are manufactured in Louisiana.
* The National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System, a new Federal Emergency Management Agency system that was created after the hurricanes of 2005, will allow lost or displaced Gulf Coast residents to search for their families in Gustav’s aftermath. It’s accessible at www. fema.gov or by calling toll-free at 800-588-9822.
* Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, whose department includes FEMA and the Coast Guard, flew to Louisiana and said he intended to remain there during the storm.
* Hospitals were trying new systems to keep the lights on. In New Orleans, a trauma center will remain running at University Hospital. Forty-nine patients were evacuated, but 79 patients will stay, said Cathi Fontenot, interim chief executive of the hospital. About 485 employees will stay at the hospital, including 83 physicians, to support urgent needs after the storm. “We have extra water and non-perishable food, extra pharmaceuticals for an extra week,” Fontenot said.
* Tropical Storm Hanna was on a wobbly path about 600 miles east-southeast of Miami, and forecasters said it could become a hurricane by Thursday somewhere off the central Florida coast.
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IN THE WEB EDITION
Find live stream of Gustav updates from reporters on the scene at bancodeprofissionais.com/gustavreporter.
