4,to 5, State Residents Evacuate.Unreal.The economy at this rate of Hurricanes is not going to be bright,as in the later months the impact will be felt.What kind of life is this?Running for your life on weekly basis lately?
It is becoming tiring.But it looks easy for the people that do not get them,as it is next news please to them.When though nightmare hit's home, all of a sudden things are very different,and minds are changing very fast about life and all.For the record=No one get;s away from some kind of heavy duty pain and stress in this life.Some more than others, but we all get the taste,or we will in the future.Take that to the bank.I have several times myself,on different ways,gotten hit hard with stressful events,even close to death things ETC.
and I am sure most have,and the rest will.That is the way.
So let us pray to God for keeping us Healthy,and strong.Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
I have my Little Jesus icon,next to my PC.If,and when I ask him for something,I always get it.Ask and you shall receive.But with faith.
Gulf Coast residents evacuate
U.S. residents from Louisiana to Florida told to prepare
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 Posted: 5:51 PM EDT(2151 GMT)
Motorists clog the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway leaving New Orleans, Louisiana, Tuesday.
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NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Residents along the Gulf of Mexico were evacuating Tuesday, trying to evade Hurricane Ivan, a dangerous Category 4 storm projected to hit from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana sometime Thursday morning.
In New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin declared a state of emergency and strongly recommended residents evacuate immediately.
A hurricane warning was issued for Grand Isle, south of New Orleans, to Apalachicola, Florida. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions will likely affect the area in the next 24 hours.
A hurricane watch remained in effect west of the warning area, from Grand Isle to Morgan City, Louisiana. Tropical storm watches stretched from Grand Isle to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, and to the east from Apalachicola to Yankeetown, Florida.
Public and private schools in many of Louisiana's coastal parishes already have closed and some businesses and public offices were closing their doors.
"The city basically sits like a bowl and most of the city is under sea level ... so if we get a storm like Ivan to hit us directly" there could be 12 to 18 feet of water in the city, Nagin said.
If people can't get out of New Orleans, the mayor said, they should do a "vertical evacuation."
"Basically, go to hotels and high-rise buildings in the city," Nagin explained.
Mandatory evacuations have been issued for St. Charles and Plaquemines parishes. Officials strongly urged residents of Jefferson Parish to begin leaving.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco declared a state of emergency Monday, and in a news conference Tuesday urged coastal residents in designated areas to leave immediately.
Hurricane Ivan is a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 140 mph and stronger gusts. Ivan weakened from its overnight rating of Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, when it had winds higher than 156 mph.
Also on Tuesday, President Bush asked for an additional $3.1 billion in emergency funds to help Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and any other areas affected by Hurricanes Charley and Frances.
Panama City warned
Residents of Panama City Beach, Florida, also are under an evacuation order.
"You must understand in all humility that you are at the mercy of the weather," said Panama City Beach Mayor Lee Sullivan.
Sullivan recalled that Hurricane Opal in 1995 brought the region "to our knees."
He urged people to heed the warnings and leave before the three bridges linking the town to the Panama City are closed, which happens when winds reach 55 mph.
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley Tuesday ordered residents in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan to evacuate, and may include others later.
More evacuations
In Mississippi, where Gov. Haley Barbour also declared a state of emergency Monday, residents living south of Interstate 10 were under a mandatory evacuation order.
In Florida, mandatory evacuations went into effect Tuesday for most of the Gulf Coast counties, including Santa Rosa, Walton, Escambia and Okaloosa. Schools in 12 counties have been closed.
Other evacuation orders only affect residents in low-lying areas or those living in mobile homes.
Police in Destin, Florida, were making sure residents got out -- including employees of the Back Porch Restaurant, where staffers were working feverishly to secure the building from a storm surge predicted to hit as high as 13 feet.
"The police are going to escort us out in the next half hour," said restaurant spokesman Coby Gent.
Storm weakens slightly
As of 5 p.m., the center of Ivan was about 370 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving northwest near 9 mph. The storm is expected to weaken slightly in the next 24 hours as it begins to take a more northerly course.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami is projecting Ivan will remain a Category 4, or will have dropped to a Category 3 by the time it makes landfall.
No matter where the landfall occurs, forecasters said, a wide swath of the Gulf of Mexico coast will feel the impact because of the storm's massive size. Hurricane force winds extend outward 105 miles and tropical storm force winds stretch to 260 miles.
That means that tropical storm force winds will begin hitting the Gulf Coast Wednesday, making it difficult for residents to finish boarding up their homes and move things inside.
On Monday, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told residents of the hurricane-weary state to take the necessary precautions, prepare for the impact and listen to authorities as evacuation orders go into effect.
"This is not the time to be defiant or to kind of let people know that you're a macho man. There are other ways to do that in life," Bush said. "Trust me, it is a powerful, powerful force of nature that you shouldn't be messing with."
Ivan hammers Cuba
Ivan, which had been a Category 5 storm, ravaged Cuba before heading for the Gulf Coast.
Since 1900, only three Category 5 hurricanes have hit the United States, most recently Hurricane Andrew, which pounded the south Florida coast in 1992, killing 23 people and causing about $26 billion in damages.
The storm has already left more than 60 dead in its wake as it barreled across Jamaica, Grenada and other islands. Grenada was the hardest hit, reporting 37 people killed.
With Ivan heading toward the Gulf of Mexico, oil companies evacuated off-shore oil rigs, stopping production of nearly 100,000 barrels of oil per day.
The military also began making preparations, moving Navy and Air Force equipment away from the storm's path, including 300 Navy aircraft moved from Naval Air Station Pensacola and Whiting Field in the Florida Panhandle.
On Grand Cayman, which the storm's eye missed by about 30 miles Sunday, the hurricane center said ham radio operators were reporting flooding so bad that people had to stand on their roofs. |
