2006 Atlantic hurricane season
In response and some fear to the storm's projected path into the Gulf of Mexico, prices for crude oil rose on the New York Mercantile Exchange at branch offices in London. Natural gas prices rose considerably in New York Mercantile Exchange electronic trading on August 2. Anticipation of a threat to supply by a potential Hurricane Chris coupled with high demand during an ongoing heat wave are cited as reasons for the price move. Also, numerous oil rigs were closed and ditched in response to the storm for the fear of Hurricane Katrina a year earlier. On August 2 approximately 600 tourists evacuated the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra as tropical storm warnings had been issued. Cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean re-routed their ships to avoid the storm.  In Puerto Rico, rainfall from the storm caused the Fajardo River to overflow its banks. The overflown waters temporarily closed a highway in the northeastern portion of the island.  Rainfall reached up to 2 inches (50 mm) across portions of Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, and eastern Cuba, and reached 4 inches (100 mm) in some mountainous areas.