Hurricane Gustav barreled toward vulnerable Haiti on Tuesday and could become the first major storm to threaten US oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico since the devastating 2005 hurricane season.

The seventh storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season had top sustained winds of 90 mph (145 kph) by 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), making it a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of storm intensity, the US National Hurricane Center said.

A recent study conducted on the stunted growth of mangrove vegetation in the Sundarbans spells doom for Kolkata and parts of south Bengal in the event of a major storm like hurricane Sidr. The study comprising compilation of data regarding salinity, tidal amplitude, turbidity coupled with quantum of dissolved oxygen in the local river water points a warning finger towards the city and the unsuspecting inhabitants living in and around it.

Hurricanes in some areas, including the North Atlantic, are likely to become more intense as a result of global warming even though the number of such storms decline, according to a study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers. Kerry Emanuel, the study's co-author, wrote a paper in 2005 reporting an apparent link between a warming climate and an increase in hurricane intensity. That paper drew worldwide attention because it appeared in Nature just three weeks before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans.

Forecaster Expects Eight Atlantic Hurricanes This Year US: April 10, 2008 MIAMI - The noted Colorado State University hurricane research team predicted on Wednesday that 15 tropical storms would form during the coming Atlantic storm season, of which eight would strengthen into hurricanes. The team founded by forecasting pioneer Bill Gray increased its outlook by two tropical storms and one hurricane over its last outlook issued in December due to improved conditions for storm development, including warmer sea surface temperatures in the eastern Atlantic.

Hurricane Price Tags Soaring On Crowded US Coast US: April 7, 2008 MIAMI - The damage caused to US coastal cities by hurricanes promises to rise into the stratosphere, raising concerns about a possible $500 billion storm and prompting calls for tougher building codes. Devastating hurricanes like 1992's Andrew and Katrina of 2005 have failed to put a dent in massive construction along the hurricane-vulnerable Atlantic and Gulf coasts, where millions of people face evacuation when a storm threatens.