You are a liar and for you to make this horrible storm political shows the scum bag that you are!
Bush has spent all our Guardsmen in Iraq and has few left to help domestically. Kerry has made that point many times.
UPDATED 3:14 a.m. THURSDAY
Digest: The latest need-to-know
Pensacola News Journal
* Hurricane Ivan slammed ashore early Thursday with winds of 130 mph, packing deadly tornadoes and a powerful punch of waves and rain that threatened to swamp communities from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
For the millions of Gulf Coast residents who were spending a frightening night in shelters and boarded-up homes, the worst could be yet to come: up to 15 inches of rain and a storm surge of up to 16 feet.
* Escambia EOC officials say the county will be experiencing hurricane-force winds until at least 2 p.m. Thursday.
* Hurricane Ivan is expected to make landfall sometime around 2 a.m., and Escambia County should see a peak at 7 a.m. with sustained winds of 113 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service forecast. The hurricane center said the core of the storm was due to make landfall within the next several hours.
* Officials with the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center said people have been calling to ask if it is OK to open their windows to cool down homes that are heating up because of a power outage.
Officials said DO NOT open your windows while hurricane-force winds are still raging. "It is the worst thing you can do," an EOC spokeswoman said. Opening windows in the presence of high winds can cause pressure imbalances that can cause serious damage to a home.
* Escambia County officials hope to begin damage assessments sometime late Thursday. At the Escambia County Jail, 1,800 inmates are without water and are experiencing some power outages. Sacred Heart Hospital is operating on generator power.
* Two main feeding pumps going into the Main Street Sewage Treatment Plant in downtown Pensacola have failed, causing sewage to spill into Pensacola Bay.
* About 1,000 Florida Army National Guard troops will be in Escambia County Thursday afternoon. They'll arrive at the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds on Mobile Highway and will provide humanitarian aid and security.
* The Pensacola Civic Center is experiencing some water leakage, but the area, which is housing evacuees, is not being evacuated.
* A tornado touched down in Gonzalez near Tate High School, and another tornado was sighted by shelter evacuees near Pensacola Junior College late Wednesday. Other tornadoes should be expected as Ivan makes its way through Escambia County, said Michael Hardin, Escambia County emergency management chief.
* Escambia County officials announced at 10:30 p.m. that weather conditions had deteriorated to the point that all emergency responses had ceased. Officials said earlier that emergency calls were being put on a priority list for response when conditions allowed.
* The City of Milton police and fire departments have pulled their units from duty. They will not respond to emergency calls until the storm passes.
* The city of Milton has already requested 13 emergency generators from the state department of emergency management and may request 13 more to supply emergency power to all 17 of the city's sewage lift stations and several traffic lights. These generators could begin arriving as early as Thursday afternoon. No one's water has been turned off at this point, although that is a possibility in some areas. Without operating lift stations, there could be an overflow.
* The Escambia County Health Department has issued a boiled water advisory for all residents in Escambia County. Before drinking water residents should boil it for one minute or residents can add eight drops (1/8 teaspoon) of plain, unscented household bleach per gallon of water and let stand for 30 minutes. If water is still cloudy after 30 minutes repeat the process.
* Escambia County Administrator George Touart and Sheriff Ron McNesby have imposed a 7 p.m. curfew for the county. Touart and McNesby drove around Perdido Key Wednesday afternoon, and noticed that the island had already taken a substantial hit. Touart said people were still driving around the area, despite sustained 50 mph winds. "At that point, the sheriff decided it would be best to impose a curfew. The curfew will be in effect indefinitely," Touart said.
* A curfew will be in effect from 6 p.m. today until 6 a.m. Thursday in Santa Rosa County. Depending on damage, the curfew could be extended Thursday.
* A curfew on unnecessary travel will be in effect in Okaloosa County from 7 p.m. today until 7 a.m. Thursday.
* Santa Rosa County emergency officials said that the old Piggly Wiggly building in Milton, which is empty and now owned by the Albertsons grocery chain, will be used as a shelter for Florida National Guard troops once the storm has passed.
* A fire crew was dispatched to a fallen tree blocking one lane of traffic on Munson Highway, near Shady Oaks Trailer Park in Northeast Milton just before 7 p.m. "We brought in our entire staff. They're scattered out in the community in various locations," said Milton Fire Chief John Reble. He said they would continue to respond as long as it was safe to do so.
* Weather conditions deteriorated to the point that Escambia County Area Transit buses were returned to the terminal. Public transport has ceased until after the storm passes.
* Emergency Response is being reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Law enforcement, fire services and ambulance services will have to cease response once weather conditions are no longer safe.
* A storm surge of between 10 and 14 feet at landfall is expected locally, and 5 to 10 inches of rain should come down as a result of Ivan.
* A 22-foot section of the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier washed out in mid-afternoon. "We lost the T-section on the end of the pier," said Don Chinery, Santa Rosa County public information director. "It's taking a pretty good beating right now. The erosion on the beach has been substantial and we're concerned about that too, because this is just the first little feather."
* The Pensacola Bay Bridge, the Theo Baars Bridge to Perdido Key and the Garcon Point Bridge were all closed by early afternoon.
* Shelters at the Pensacola Civic Center and the University of West Florida have been closed because they have reached capacity. The county's special needs shelter at Pensacola Junior College also is full. Officials at the Civic Center have been moving refugees around the facility - first away from floor-level to avoid flooding, and around noon, away from areas where the roof could collapse. People are now being placed in arena offices and other similar locations.
* Shelters in Santa Rosa County are filling up; the county opened an additional shelter in Pace.
* By mid-afternoon there were up to 7,000 people in shelters in Escambia County.
* All emergency calls should go to 911; only general information calls should go to the Escambia County Citizen Information Line at 595-3344.
* A water main break in the Green Hills Road area from Pine Forest Road to Stefani Road has caused a water outage on Ali Sheba, Bold Ruler Drive and Green Hills Road. Repairs will begin Friday morning.
* Pensacola Naval Air Station is closed except for essential personnel.
* Post offices with ZIP Codes beginning with 324 and 325 are closed. Employees in post offices with ZIP Codes beginning with 324 and 325 reported to work early today to deliver to those areas that remain accessible. Coastal post offices with ZIP Codes beginning with 323 may also be forced to suspend operations Thursday.
* Regular delivery of the Thursday morning Pensacola News Journal will be delayed because of Hurricane Ivan. For 24-hour coverage, or for an update on the |
