Hurricane Gustav and New Orleans

Heather said: "Eek. It sounds as if Hurricane Gustav is going to be a whopper when it hits the Gulf Coast. Not good news for the residents or the oil rigs in the area. New Orleands officials are already telling residents to get the f*** out. I know if I lived there I'd be wasting no time getting out of dodge. They aren't even going to be providing emergency shelter at the Superdome this time around.."

bjohn13 said: "This is definitely frightening. The unfortunate thing about New Orleans is the fact that it is one of the most strategic shipping points in the United States, located at the mouth of the continent's largest river syste. New Orleans will not go away. Now, I hate to sound crass and like a hard-ass, so I'll start out by saying that I have the utmost respect for people who returned to New Orleans after Katrina to try to rebuild what was once theirs. It takes a tremendous amount of perseverence to return to those devastated neighborhoods to try to turn what was destroyed back into something beautiful. That said, I hope that this scare will get the residents of New Orleans to realize that it isn't worth it. Get out of Dodge while you still can, and don't return."

Heather said: "New Orleans is in a problematic area. Over half of the city is below sea level and at the mouth of the Mississippi river. It's too bad that science hasn't discovered a way to break up these storms. It's ironic it's almost three years to the date of Katrina. Even the Republicans are discussing plans to postpone their convention because of it. I just hope that somehow/someway the storm dissipates, but forecasters are saying it's likely to strengthen into a category 4 in the coming days. Not good news."

bjohn13 said: "The forcast I read online out of Tampa's Fox affiliate stated that the storm actually has the likelihood to strengthen to a category 5 once it gets past Cuba before "weakening" back to a category 4 as it gets closer to the New Orleans area. As of right now, it appears as if Gustav has weakened to a category 3, and the mayor of New Orleans has ordered mandatory evacuation. Anyone who stays behind and wanders off his/her property is subject to arrest. And yet, as they interview the people who are leaving, most are already talking about what they will be "going back" to. It's a cruel, cruel world."

Heather said: "If I lived there I seriously doubt that I would go back after getting hit, so I'm not one of the "brave" ones. I'd figure that the area is FUBAR and boogie. At least the local and state govt. are being realistic - they aren't even pretending that they're going to rescue people. They've told the population that "they assume all responsibility" if they don't evacuate. Katrina must have taught them something.. I was reading that about 1 million people have already left, so that's good. I hope everyone else gets out of there.. It's killed a number of folks in the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Haiti already."

MoeInvested said: "Definately a horrifying situation. It's like getting kicked, when you're down. What a nightmare after Katrina. Does any one remember if Katrina had a major impact on the market (particularly the dow)? I know oil goes up due to the oil rigs shutting down."

Kloewer said: "After the way they behaved after Katrina, I have no sympathy or respect for New Orleans. The people of Iowa showed this summer that major natural disasters don't have to result in whining, killing, and looting. If I remember correctly (and I may not), Katrina was good for energy stocks and homebuilders, except those that were in the path of the storm. If this causes a spike in natural gas prices, I should do well by owning National Fuel Gas (NFG), which derives its gas mostly from the northeastern US and so shouldn't be negatively affected by the storm, but would still benefit from the tighter supplies. That's the most obvious affect on my own portfolio that I can think of."

Aligator said: "Gustav will help the Republican party. Here's how: 1. Bush and Cheney are no longer assets to the party as far as Independents are concerned.. Not having them there is actually a plus for McCain & Palin because it will enable them to further distance themselves from Bush/Cheney. I'm sure Bush and Cheney know that and are seizing the opportunity to be somewhere else. 2. Democrats will no longer be able to talk about the shameful way Bush handled Katrina because he will have redeemed himself through his handling of Gustav But Gustav sure ain't gonna help the poor gulf coast. It could be very bad."

tigrok1 said: "Does anyone know what type of stocks incresed after a natural disaster."

TimingTheMarkets said: "Natural Gas futures are bound to increase because of hurricane season. The United States Natural Gas ETF (ticker:UNG) is an effective way to play this commodity. Anyone else long in Natural Gas?"

Kloewer said: "[QUOTE=tigrok1;72649]Does anyone know what type of stocks incresed after a natural disaster.[/QUOTE] It totally depends on the specific disaster. Oil and gas seem to get most of the natural disaster hype, but earlier this year when flooding hit parts of Australia, coal shot up as a result. Too much or too little rain in the Midwest can affect the price of grains. Those are just a couple examples, but each disaster must be viewed individually."

bjohn13 said: "I really think we dodged a bullet here, but it really makes me wonder...the next time a hurricane bears down on New Orleans, will people heed warnings? That said, I also think this pretty much goes to show that making investments based on mother nature is even more volatile than the market alone. To the people who stocked up on natural gas and oil stocks in anticipation of a big disaster, the only thing I have to say is "serves you right"."