Now that Gustav is a mere after thought, actually a major low-pressure system in the central United States that is expected to dump two to six inches of rain in some places, East Coast residents turn their attention to Hurricanes Hanna and Ike.

Actually, Hanna has turned back to a tropical storm and continuing to hop around the Bahamas like a drug mule picking up packages before they head back to the Atlanta airport. The big story is how much punch Hurricane Ike is packing. The sustained wind speeds of Ike are currently at roughly 115 miles per hour and the present storm course of the hurricane is heading west-northwest.

Here is my big concern – Hurricane Gustav was a dud in New Orleans as compared to Katrina. Yes, it caused damage in the Gulf, yes there was major flooding, but the nation didn’t witness (thank god) the devastation that was seen back in 2005.

Will all the people who evacuated Louisiana think they could ride out the next major storm thinking, chances are, nothing will happen? Will the relative “false alarms” cause the masses to become complacent? If so, another Katrina is possible.

Just remember, the collective memory is very short…

Update: Symonsez has outstanding hurricane coverage.

As you are well aware by, Hurricane Gustav made landfall roughly at 10 AM this morning as a category 2 storm and missed New Orleans but has hammered the state none the less.Roughly 800,000 people are out of power, the levee system is still in place but officials still fear flooding.

While Louisiana is safe, the southeast isn’t out of the woods yet – tropical storm Hanna is expected to hit the east cost at some point this week.

Here is the latest for Hurricane Gustav s of 10 PM central:

• Roughly 2 million people have evacuated the Louisiana coastline
• The storm surge is expected to reach 15 feel in some places
• McCain has canceled all speeches for the first day of the Republican convention
• Current storm position

As if a Hurricane bearing down on New Orleans isn’t bad enough, everyone seems to forget that the Levee system is not yet repaired from Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Gustav is still a category 3 storm.  Forecasters now believe the storm will no longer make the jump to a category 4. This does not make the situation any less dangerous. If you will recall, hurricane Katrina was also a category 3 storm.

Here is a quick round up of news coverage for the storm:

• Hurricane winds could hit Louisiana by Monday morning
• New Orleans evacuates for “big, ugly storm”
• Gustav Still a Weak Category 3
• Gustav Shutters Refineries on Gulf Coast
• Gustav gives Nagin a second change to get it right

Hurricane Gustav expected storm path

More to come….

Update – Remember, there are a number of things to be thankful for and it can depend on where you live.