<p><br /> Tropical storm Alex has gained in strength and is set to become the first hurricane to affect the US Gulf coast since the oil spill.<br /> </p><p><br /> Shop owners and tourists made preparations in case the hurricane made landfall.<br /> </p><p><br /> "What we know is when they say get prepared you do it no messing around," said shop owner Liz Money.<br /> </p><p><br /> In Grand Isle, Louisiana, crews worked to secure the levee system as concerns increased that Alex could push more oil from the massive leak in the Gulf of Mexico onshore.<br /> </p><p><br /> "We are worried that the oil washes in with the tide, it gets into our neighbourhood back here," Christopher Hernandez of the Grand Isle Street Department said.<br /> </p><p><br /> Controlled burns of oil on the ocean's surface, flights spraying dispersant chemicals and booming operations have all been stopped.<br /> </p>
