With many courts along the Gulf Coast damaged by winds or floodwaters, judicial officials are looking for new venues to hear appeals and hold jury trials.

CNN: Courts face unique challenges

So, too, is the phase when oil wealth alone could make and keep the region prosperous, as well as insulate Gulf societies from the buffeting winds of globalisation.

ECONOMIST: Time travellers

The NOAA's National Hurricane Center said Katrina was a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of about 160 mph as it approached the Gulf Coast.

CNN: Storm surge the fatal blow for New Orleans

But Hurricane Katrina's winds pushed in a devastating surge of water from the Gulf of Mexico that overwhelmed the city's system of levees built to hold back the surrounding Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.

CNN: Storm surge the fatal blow for New Orleans

The heart of the reserve is a wide saltwater estuary that winds past small, shrubby islands on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

BBC: Relaxing among the Yucatan's flamingos

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projected that winds will continue through Saturday to push oil on the surface of the Gulf toward barrier islands along the Mississippi and Alabama coasts.

WSJ: Oil Pipe Cut in Effort to Contain Spill

Hurricane Ike now a category two hurricane with 100 mile an hour winds swirling over Cuba with the path projected to take it into the Gulf of Mexico and likely somewhere along the American East Gulf coast.

NPR: Hurricanes Wreak Havoc In Haiti And Cuba