New Orleans will respond expeditiously and expertly if Tropical Storm Bonnie makes landfall in the region, the city's governor Bobby Jindal has claimed.

WWLTV reports that Mr Jindal has reassured residents and businesses in the city that public officials have been in constant communication with the National Weather Service to track the course of the storm.

He added that the state government has also carried out extensive hazmat training to prepare for the possibility that oil from rigs in the Gulf of Mexico may come ashore.

Meteorologists warned yesterday (July 22nd) that the storm is on a potential collision course with oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, causing operators to prepare to shut down rigs, while BP temporarily suspended relief drilling in its effort to permanently plug the Deepwater Horizon spill.

The price of oil jumped more than $2 to trade above $79 a barrel yesterday as investors factored in the possibility of sustained supply disruptions.

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