Hurricane Gustav appears likely now to miss New Orleans, but the vast majority of Americans expect the storm to drive up gas prices now that it’s in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, 80% say gas prices will go up if Gustav hits the Gulf, 11% say prices will stay the same, and three percent (3%) think prices will actually go down. As of this writing, the storm is expected to hit land west of New Orleans.

Prices at the pump have been declining for several weeks and now average around $3.60 per gallon for regular. However, with numerous oil drilling rigs in the Gulf and refineries along the Gulf coast, a damaging storm can definitely impact gas prices.

Public support for offshore drilling is high, as one way to reduce high gas and oil prices. Voters also believe electric or hybrid cars and nuclear power plants are more likely than solar or wind power to significantly reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

After the problems associated with Hurricane Katrina three years ago, 58% believe emergency services are now better prepared to deal with natural disasters compared to one year ago, while 43% think the government does not do enough to protect victims of such disasters. Only five percent think emergency response groups are less prepared, and 30% think their level of preparation is about the same.

Thirty-five percent (35%) believe that the government does do enough to protect victims of natural disasters. Democrats are far more critical of the government response that Republicans. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Democrats say government does not do enough to protect disaster victims, while a slightly higher but comparable number of Republicans (65%) believe the government does do enough.

Nearly two million people have evacuated south Louisiana, with thousands more leaving coastal areas of Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. Mindful of the public relations disaster Republicans and the Bush White House in particular suffered from what was viewed by many as a slow response to Katrina, the GOP convention slated to begin Monday has already curtailed many of its early events, with President Bush even canceling a scheduled speech there.

Federal officials already have been on the scene working and say they are fully prepared for the aftermath of Gustav.

Only 29% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency responsible for responding to natural disasters. Forty-two percent (42%) view FEMA unfavorably.

Again, Democrats are far more critical of the agency than Republicans, which is not surprising given their leadership’s continued criticism of the response to Katrina. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Democrats regard FEMA unfavorably, as opposed to 25% of Republicans. By contrast, 48% of GOP voters give the agency favorable marks, but only 19% of Democrats agree.

Seventy-three percent (73%) say they are following news stories about Hurricane Gustav at least somewhat closely.

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