Hurricane Gustav to Hit Haiti

Hurricane Gustav is expected to make landfall in Haiti later today, Bloomberg reports, buffeting a country already hard hit by Tropical Storm Fay earlier this month. Gustav was upgraded from a tropical storm earlier this morning, after strengthening over the Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center said that preparations should “be rushed to completion,” warning of possible “life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.”

Gustav formed quickly yesterday, and is expected to strengthen into a major storm. It may be a Category 2 by the time it hits Haiti, and has the potential to reach Category 3 later in the week. After Haiti, it is expected to pass between Cuba and Jamaica, and then over the western tip of Cuba. "It doesn't look like it'll reach the Gulf of Mexico until the weekend or early next week," one watcher said.  "It may disrupt the production of oil next week.'' (More hurricane stories.)