The nearly abandoned coast of Louisiana is taking the brunt of Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall this morning west of New Orleans as a Category 2 storm.

Early this afternoon, it was moving in a northwest line through Acadiana. Lafayette has gotten the early stages of the storm.

The National Hurricane Center says Gustav hit near the community of Cocodrie south of Houma.

In New Orleans, water is splashing over some floodwalls, but city officials are optimistic the levees protecting New Orleans will hold. The city's levee system has been only partially rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina struck three years ago.

A commander of the Army Corps of Engineers' hurricane protection office said they are "cautiously optimistic and confident" there won't be catastrophic wall failure.

Forecasters had feared Gustav would arrive as a devastating Category 4 with much more powerful winds.

From The Associated Press