A major oil spill caused by Hurricane Katrina is threatening the lower Mississippi River region. According to the Financial Times, up to 3.7 million gallons of crude oil has leaked into the Mississippi and some of the oil is expected to find its way into the Gulf of Mexico. Officials estimate the spill is about one-third the size of the huge oil spill caused by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska in 1989. The spill in the Mississippi began after Hurricane Katrina ruptured a pair of oil storage tanks.