In the aftermath, the
Canadian government sent a
C-17 airlifter, with a medical team, from
CFB Trenton to assist in the evacuation of New Orleans. and two
C-130 Hercules airlift planes from
Greenwood,
Nova Scotia and from
Winnipeg,
Manitoba. The
United Kingdom sent
HMS Iron Duke and
RFA Wave Ruler to provide emergency assistance and assess the damage caused by Gustav.
Anheuser-Busch provided canned water to affected residents.
Hispaniola In the Dominican Republic, a landslide in a rural area killed eight people. Two people were injured. Government authorities said that some 67,255 persons were evacuated and more than 1,239 homes were damaged with 12 destroyed. 50 communities were isolated by the flooding. Gustav made landfall in Haiti at approximately 1 pm EDT on August 26, about west of the city of Jacmel. Two more were killed in southwestern Haiti when their house collapsed. Another two deaths were caused by an explosion inside a house, thought to be possibly related to Hurricane Gustav. The southern town of Jacmel, where the hurricane made landfall, was bisected by floodwaters. According to Haiti's National Director of Civil Protection, 77 people died as a result of the hurricane.
Jamaica In Jamaica, 15 deaths were reported after Gustav swept through the area as a tropical storm. The banana sector in the parishes of
St. Thomas,
St. Mary and
Portland suffered significant damage. The Hope River Bridge linking the capital
Kingston with the eastern reaches of the city including Harbour View and St. Thomas collapsed and the Georgia bridge in Portland was destroyed. Jamaica's government ministry initially estimated
J$3 billion (US$41.2 million) in damage to the road infrastructure in the country. Total damage in Jamaica was estimated at J$19 billion (US$210 million).
Cayman Islands In the Cayman Islands, Gustav's heavy rains and storm surge flooded the streets of
Cayman Brac and
Little Cayman, the smaller easternmost "Sister Islands" in the chain. More than 1,100 people spent the night in government shelters in the three islands as high waves and heavy winds battered the chain, the National Emergency Operations Center said in a statement. Most people waited out the storm in private homes or hotels.
Cuba On Saturday August 30, 2008, Gustav made landfall on mainland Cuba near the community of
Los Palacios in Pinar del Río—a region that produces much of the
tobacco used to make the nation's
famed cigars. In Los Palacios some 7,000 homes were roofless and many with their walls collapsed. The rice and banana farms sustained much damage. At least 300,000 people were evacuated from Gustav's path as winds toppled telephone poles and fruit trees, shattered windows and tore off the tin roofs of homes. Cuban authorities declared that Gustav is the worst hurricane to hit the country in 50 years. Authorities called the storm damage the worst since 1956. The wind gusts registered in the city of Paso Real de San Diego were the highest in Cuba's history, according to the provincial newspaper, the
Guerrillero. Winds were so strong that the weather station instruments broke. Gustav is considered Cuba's worst hurricane in 45 years, the last hurricane that was worse than Gustav for Cuba was
Hurricane Flora in 1963, which was the deadliest Cuban storm since the
1932 Cuba Hurricane. Cuban Civil defense authorities initially stated that there were "many people injured" on Isla de la Juventud, an island of 87,000 people south of the mainland. Nearly all the island's roads were washed out and some regions were heavily flooded. No fatalities have been reported in Cuba, despite the extreme damage. According to
Pinar del Río civil defense authorities, 86,000 homes were damaged, 80 electric towers and 600 electric posts fell. Cuba's electric company, indicated that a total of 136 electric towers toppled over and that the electrical grid on
Isla de la Juventud was 100% damaged. In all, damage from Hurricane Gustav totaled $2.1 billion in Cuba.
United States . Although the storm was still in its formative stages on August 26, On August 27, U.S. oil and natural-gas companies began evacuating personnel from their oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico amid continued forecasts that Gustav would strengthen and move into the gulf. By August 30, 76.77% of oil production and 37.16% of
natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico had been
shut in. By mid-day August 31, 96% of oil production had stopped. Out at sea, one death was reported.
Louisiana In the state of Louisiana, 34 parishes were declared as disaster areas. Around 1.5 million people were without power in Louisiana on September 1. The state reported about 100,000 people remained on the coast, after evacuation. Damage assessments came as residents returned to inspect their properties. Damage included numerous trees down in various locations, such as around some Marriott hotels, The
Associated Press Minor street flooding began in the upper
Ninth Ward of New Orleans. In
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, it was considered to be the worst storm to hit the area since
Hurricane Betsy in 1965. An elderly couple was killed when a tree fell on the house they were temporarily staying in and 85% of the area lost power. The community of
Houma,
Louisiana, and the surrounding area in south-central Louisiana sustained extensive wind damage. The winds blew off many roofs, blew windows out of houses and knocked down many trees and left much of the region without power. ,
Louisiana.
Central Louisiana was also hard hit. Many trees and power lines were knocked down in that region as well, and many houses sustained damage from the winds and localized flooding. Part of the roof at the
Alexandria Mall collapsed. Two people died in the region — one was electrocuted and one had a tree crush her trailer. The area's water supply was also hampered as power was knocked out to most of the water wells in the
Alexandria and
Pineville areas. Damage and significant power outages were reported as far north as northern Louisiana, in the
Interstate 20 corridor. Highest rainfall totals received thus far across the state include near
Bunkie,
Louisiana, and at Barataria Bay Pass. President Bush declared 34 Louisiana parishes as disaster areas and visited the area on September 3. On Wednesday, September 3, field staff and emergency supplies from the
Arkansas Rural Water Association departed to assist the
Louisiana Rural Water Association restore water and wastewater service to impacted communities. Staff and supplies from other state associations, including Alabama, Mississippi and Florida went on stand-by the same day. By Friday, September 5, response teams from Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi were assisting efforts to restore water and wastewater service. There was little structural damage to the water infrastructure, with power loss the primary difficulty. Rural water teams provided 771 on-site technical assistance visits to 370 affected water and wastewater systems. Later, the LRWA efforts received applause from the Louisiana Joint Select Committee on Homeland Security. The LSU football team postponed their game, scheduled for September 6, against
Troy University and rescheduled it for November 15 after damage was caused to
Tiger Stadium. The swirling wind in the stadium tore awnings, threw team benches from the sidelines of the playing field into the stands and littered the stadium with debris.
Mississippi and Alabama , as Hurricane Gustav hits the Gulf Coast The National Weather Service reported 14 confirmed tornadoes spun by Gustav from
Biloxi to
Mobile. In Mississippi, damage from Gustav was far less severe than that caused by
Hurricane Katrina, with its 2005 storm surge of ; however, Gustav's storm surge was high as in places on the
Mississippi Gulf Coast. Sections of
U.S. Route 90 (including
Gulfport and Biloxi) were flooded and some houses were flooded. Two people from
Metairie, Louisiana died near
Vicksburg in an automobile accident while evacuating from the storm. In
Alabama, scattered damage already reached multimillion-dollar levels, with the destruction of the
Dauphin Island berm (sand dune barrier) by storm surge waves, A fuller assessment of damage can be expected when more residents return to the coastal areas and further
insurance claims are filed.
Florida The state of Florida was affected by both the Cuba landfall, with Gustav traveling past the
Florida Keys, and the Louisiana landfall (September 1), affecting the
Florida panhandle, with storm surge and outer band tornadoes and thunderstorms. Several tornado warnings were issued around the
Pensacola area. Panhandle beaches had rip currents, Four people died in rip currents on Florida beaches.
Arkansas Because of Gustav's slow motion across northwest Louisiana and Arkansas on September 4 and 5, significant rainfall accumulation was seen statewide. The maximum amount in Arkansas was at
Hamburg, where had fallen, making Gustav the third wettest tropical cyclone to affect the state since 1972. ==Political implications==