September 1, 2008--A satellite view of the U.S. Gulf Coast shows Hurricane Gustav at 11:15 a.m. eastern time, shortly after coming ashore as a Category 2 storm.

The center of the storm made landfall in Louisiana near Cocodrie (pronounced ko-ko-DREE), a low-lying community about 72 miles (116 kilometers) southwest of New Orleans, the Associated Press reported.

As of 3 p.m. eastern time Gustav had been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane, even as tropical storm Hanna reached hurricane status and continued on its projected path toward Florida's Atlantic coast.