Tropical Storm Gustav sweeps Caribbean

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Source: CCTV.com | 08-29-2008 09:45

Tropical storm Gustav is sweeping across the Caribbean. 59 people are already confirmed dead with Jamaica the latest country to be hit. Meantime, over in the US, many coastal states are on high alert.

On Thursday afternoon, Gustav was 65 kilometers off Jamaica, but already lashing the island with strong winds.

A Haitian woman observes damage caused by Tropical Storm  Gustav in Carrefour Marin, south of Port-au-Prince. (AFP/Thony Belizaire)

Forecasters warn it could strengthen into a hurricane before hitting Jamaica's low-lying capital of Kingston on Thursday night.

Many residents, tourists and oil workers have been evacuated from vulnerable areas. At beach resorts, workers are doing what they can to deal with the storm. Despite the growing fears, some tourists remain calm.

Kate and Rob Carter, British newly-weds said that, "Well we got married on the 24th (August) and we've just flown over on the 26th (August). We thought the storm was going to actually miss the island. But, because we've just got married, we figured if we can survive a storm then we can survive anything. We're staying put."