Residents of New Orleans are relieved to find the city largely intact even
as thousands spend the night in shelters inland. 

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 1, 2008)REUTERS -
 Hurricane Gustav slammed ashore on the U.S. Gulf Coast just west
of New Orleans on Monday (September 1) but rebuilt levees appeared to be
holding surging floodwaters out of the city devastated by Katrina in 2005.

    The storm was weaker than had been feared. 
    But waves splashed over and through cracks in floodwalls protecting the
low-lying city, triggering a tense, hours-long watch over the barrier system
that failed three years ago, flooding 80 percent of the city and stranding
thousands of people. 
    Six inches (15 cm) of water pooled in some streets near the vulnerable
New Orleans Industrial Canal and officials cautioned that while the levees had
not been breached, they were still in danger. 
    Residents who have emerged from boarded up homes were relieved to find
only broken tree branches and toppled signs.
    And from them, an appeal to politicians to stay away.
    "Let the business people take over and run it and re-open without
getting into too many problems," said resident and business owner Ewan
Morgan.  
    "The city will recover easily but as far as letting the
politicians handle it, no."  
    The storm roared through the heart of the U.S. Gulf oilpatch but oil
and natural gas prices plunged as Gustav weakened to a Category 2 hurricane
with 110 mph (177 kph) winds before landfall, easing fears of serious supply
disruptions that had put energy markets on edge. 
    Oil companies had shut down nearly all production in the region, which
normally pumps a quarter of U.S. oil output and 15 percent of its natural gas.

    Exxon said it was shutting down its Baton Rouge refinery, the second
largest in the United States, although the storm weakened to a Category 1
hurricane with 80 mph (129 kph) winds as it moved inland. 
    Mindful of the ravages of Katrina, which killed some 1,500 people,
nearly 2 million people fled the Gulf Coast as Gustav approached and only
10,000 were believed to have remained in New Orleans. 
    More than 14,000 National Guard troops and pilots were deployed to the
Gulf Coast and the Department of Defense had authorized up to 50,000 troops.
Soldiers are routinely deployed in U.S. disasters for rescue and clean-up and
to prevent looting.