Hurricane Gustav ploughed into the Gulf Coast of Louisiana on Monday with less force than forecast, prompting relief in global oil markets, as government officials scrambled to avoid the mistakes made during hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Gustav, which prompted 2m people to flee coastal areas over the weekend and shut down the region’s offshore oil production, weakened a notch to the category two level as it moved ashore just west of New Orleans, packing sustained winds of 105mph and gusts of up to 135mph.