BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Coast Guard and Air Force units base in Florida are on standby in case they are needed to respond to areas in the path of Hurricane Gustav.

The storm was bearing down on the Gulf Coast near New Orleans Sunday as thousands of residents evacuated their homes.

A spokesman for the Coast Guard said that there has been no formal request for Florida personnel, but they would be ready to go when and if a request was made. However he cautioned that the Coast Guard is keeping its eye on Tropical Storm Hanna and would take that into consideration if Hanna appears to threaten Florida.

The 920th Air Rescue Wing from Patrick Air Force Base in Brevard County is "prepositioned" to respond to areas affected by Gustav, according to a spokeswoman for the wing.

However the 920th can only deploy if FEMA requests their services from the Air Force, so they remain on standby.

She pointed out that in 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,the 920th operated out of an Air Force base near Jackson, Mississippi and performed over a 1000 rescues of people in and around New Orleans. That was more than the combined total of rescues performed by the 920th in its whole history.