Workers secure the wing of a small aeroplane in an area where aircraft were being moved from a nearby airport to a safer location, in preparation for Tropical storm Gustav, in George Town, Grand Cayman, yesterday. Gustav surged toward renewed hurricane force yesterday as it drove toward Jamaica, while many miles away, New Orleans watched it with a nervous eye. - AP

GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman (CMC):

As a strengthening Tropical Storm Gustav approached the Cayman Islands, local disaster management officials said they had all the necessary plans in place.

"Supplies have been checked, government buildings on all three islands have been shuttered, and the government hospitals, including Faith Hospital, are ready," said Director of the Hazard Management Cayman Islands, Barbara Carby. "Shelters are ready to receive persons and government is working closely with the business and tourism sectors to keep an open flow of two-way information."

The Government, yesterday morning, maintained a hurricane watch, which means hurricane-type conditions are expected to start affecting the British overseas territory within the next two days. On its current path Tropical Storm Gustav is projected to pass near or over the Cayman Islands sometime late today.

The slow-moving storm, which has killed at least 23 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, approached Jamaica yesterday morning, packing sustained winds near 70 miles per hour with higher gusts.