Natural gas in storage in the U.S. rose last week and was 3.7 percent above the five-year average for this time of year, a government report said Thursday.

Initial inspections of the Gulf Coast’s extensive energy complex confirmed Tuesday that Hurricane Gustav was nowhere near as destructive as Katrina and Rita three years ago.

As Gustav churns closer to the U.S., a question lingers: How will the revamped structures, pipelines and other equipment hold up to a major hurricane?