1 September 2008 (from AFP) - Torrential rain and winds from Hurricane Gustav lashed the US Gulf coast early today after nearly two million people fled the killer storm. Hundreds of troops were sent into New Orleans after what is being called the biggest evacuation in US history. "The outer edge of the storm is already over the Mississippi Delta and going in toward New Orleans now, according to radar," National Hurricane Center meteorologist Patricia Wallace told AFP. The eye of the storm was not expected to make landfall until later. At 0600 GMT, the heart of Gustav was 275 kilometers southeast of New Orleans, moving towards the city at 26 km an hour.

Hurricane Gustav battering the Caribbean Islands while heading toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Gustav can still be seen battering the Caribbean Islands in this image, from 28 August.

Hurricane Gustav can still be seen battering the Caribbean Islands in this image, from 30 August, but is clearly moving past them.

This Full Resolution image presents a magnified view of the above image, focusing on the edge of Hurricane Gustav as it passed Florida.

ASAR Wide Swath image showing Hurricane Gustav passing over the Caribbean Sea. Winds, currents and roughness are examined to help predict the hurricane's course.

ASAR wide swath showing Hurricane Gustav passing over the Caribbean Sea.

Hurricane Gustav battering the city of New Orleans. MERIS Reduced Resolution image.

This Full Resolution image presents another view of the same area as the above image.

This is a GPOD FAIRE output combining an ASAR WSM product of 01 Sep at 4am with an archive of 28 July (VVpol).

The areas highlighted in red show backscatter increase and blue areas show backscatter drop. Water bodies are in black and white if no change has occurred.

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