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Local officials ready to respond as thousands from Coast flee Gustav |
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Sunday, 31 August 2008 |
 Top image by NOAA, Above photos by Rogelio V. Solis/The Associated Presstraffic creeps along the eastbound lanes of I-10 near Diamondheadas Gulf Coast residents from Mississippi and Louisiana try to get a head of the surge, winds and rain accompanying Hurricane Gustav on Saturday By BRIAN HAWKINS
Starkville Daily News
Gov. Haley Barbour expanded the declared state of emergency for Hurricane Gustav to include all Mississippi counties as evacuations from the Gulf Coast and southern region counties begin in earnest today.
Overnight Friday and into Saturday morning, Gustav strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane according to the Saffir-Simpson Scale and slammed into western Cuba packing winds just shy of Category 5 status.
An advisory posted online by the National Hurricane Center Saturday night stated that Gustav was packing maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and could strengthen to a Category 5 storm as it moved into the southern Gulf of Mexico in the predawn hours today.
Hurricane force winds — at least 74 mph — extend outward up to 70 miles from Gustav’s eye, with tropical storm force winds — at least 39 mph — extending up to 175 miles from the eye.
The storm is currently moving northwest at about 15 mph and is expected to continue in that direction, reaching the northern Gulf Monday morning with landfall along the Southeastern Louisiana coast — just slightly to the southwest of New Orleans — about 2 p.m. Monday.
A hurricane watch has been issued from High Island, Texas, to the Alabama-Florida border, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Estimates show that more than a million people began streaming out of New Orleans and Mississippi Gulf Coast cities Saturday to flee the storm. Mississippi and Louisiana officials would open all lanes of interstates 55 and 59 northward into Mississippi — known as contraflow — beginning at 4 a.m. today.
More than 10 dozen school buses are heading to the Coast today to help evacuate residents, thousands of which are still living in temporary trailers since Hurricane Katrina hit just over 3 years ago.
Barbour stressed Saturday that residents still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina three years ago should not be lulled into thinking Gustav will pass safely to the west.
“We all know from Ivan and Katrina that they have a tendency ... to kick to the east right at the last,” Barbour said. “Ivan kicked right and came in on the east side of Mobile.”
A hurricane watch has been issued for the Mississippi coast.
“People need to prepare that we will start having serious weather conditions during the night Sunday and early Monday,” he said.
Starkville area forecasts are calling for thunderstorms beginning Monday and continuing through Wednesday night. How much of that will be directly from Gustav is uncertain since the storm is forecast to continue a northwest track through Louisiana and into eastern Texas through midweek.
Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Director Jim Britt, in a briefing with city, county and local emergency response officials, cautioned that the Starkville area could see weather conditions similar to those experienced locally when the remnants of Hurricane Rita came through the Starkville area less than two weeks after Katrina.
“I expect it will track back east and we’ll get some significant rainfall and thunderstorm activity, and possibly some tornadoes, just like we did with Rita,” Britt said, recalling the Rita-spawned twister that touched down northeast of the Mississippi State campus and plowed through the University Hills mobile home park.
“The ground, though, is saturated from Tropical Storm Fay, so the less rain we get the better.”
Britt said he has the necessary documentation prepared for both the Starkville Board of Aldermen and Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors to declare a local state of emergency if needed. A local declaration would allow city and county officials to bypass normal purchasing procedures to meet emergency needs, he said.
Housing a huge influx of Hurricane Gustav evacuees may prove challenging, however. Local hotels and motels are booked solid, with less than 10 rooms available in the city, Britt said. Hotels in some smaller communities — including Eupora and Houston — still have vacancies, so some evacuees could be directed there, he said.
“We have also worked to compile a list of available rental homes and apartments that are available,” Britt said.
Disaster response volunteers with the Oktibbeha County chapter of the American Red Cross have been working since mid-week to be ready to assist storm evacuees.
Red Cross shelters have already been opened in Tupelo and Columbus, and a Starkville shelter will likely open Monday, said Becky Wilkes, Red Cross executive director, on Saturday.
The Starkville shelter would be able to house 50 evacuees at First Baptist Church, with meals served at First United Methodist Church. Both churches are located within a block’s walk of each other on Lampkin Street.
City public services crews have been working to clean debris from ditches and gutters across the city to allow storm water to drain more effectively, said Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Spruill.
Electric Department crews have also worked to cut back some tree limbs from major power lines to help minimize a potential power loss situation, Spruill said.
The Board of Aldermen is still planning to meet as scheduled on Tuesday, and the agenda will be revised to accommodate a local emergency declaration should circumstances dictate, Spruill added.
City Planner Ben Griffith said local construction contractors have also been directed to secure equipment and various building materials at project sites around the city in anticipation of the storm.
Starkville Fire Chief Rodger Mann said that state emergency officials had initially called for multiple city firefighters to travel to the Gulf Coast today to be able to assist in storm response efforts, but as of Saturday afternoon, state officials had directed them to stand down unless needed.
In the meantime, the waiting game continues today, Britt said.
“We’ve done all we can do to get ready, so we’ve just got to monitor what this storm does. If it goes completely way from us, then this has been a great exercise in preparation,” Britt said. “At the same time, we’ve still got to keep an eye on Tropical Storm Hanna out in the Atlantic, which looks like it may cross into the Gulf.”
Volunteering or donating
Britt urged local residents and organizations wanting to make donations or volunteer to help storm victims to do so by calling the statewide donation and volunteer hotline. The hotline can be reached by dialing 211 from anywhere in Mississippi or by calling 1-866-472-8265 or (601) 360-0450.
This call center is staffed by United Way of the Capital Area, but the number is accessible statewide.
Monetary donations can be made through the following:
• American Red Cross — Online through the Web site at http://www.redcross.org or by calling 1-800-HELP-NOW (1-800-435-7669).
• Salvation Army — Online through the Web site at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org.
Donations may also be given to the local offices of both the Red Cross and Salvation Army, both of which are located within the 501 Business Centre on Highway 12 West.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 September 2008 )
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