Geneva  - Gustav, Ike and Paloma will no longer be used to name hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday.

The WMO said the decision was taken "because of the deaths and damage they caused in 2008." It would also retire the name Alma in the eastern North Pacific.

The names used for storms are reused every several years and these names would have come up again in 2014.

The WHO said it would instead use Gonzalo, Isaias, Paulette in the Atlantic and Amanda instead of Alma.

The WMO has in the past also stopped using the names Katrina and Mitch for similar reasons. (dpa)