By Jason Niblett, newseditor@laurelleadercall.com
August 29, 2008 10:03 am
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As people across South Mississippi mark today’s third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina they should also be taking note of a possible disaster taking shape within the next few days.
Jones County residents should be preparing now as if Gustav was about to make landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Gov. Haley Barbour has declared a state of emergency, opening avenues for assistance and the usage of the National Guard.
Even though many models agree the storm will make landfall along the central Louisiana coastline, those same models had the storm aimed at the Mississippi Gulf Coast a day before. Timing, intensity, and direction can — and often do — change up until a hurricane actually makes landfall.
Officials also warned local people to be prepared even if the storm stays away from Mississippi, but threatens Louisiana. According to New Orleans media reports, that state is preparing to evacuate approximately 2.2 million people — or more, depending on the track — as early as Saturday. That means this area could see thousands of people looking for groceries, gasoline, and lodging. The State of Louisiana is expected to request the I-59 and I-55 controflow plans Sunday morning.
Mississippi Gulf Coast are possible Sunday, depending on the track.
“It appears likely that a voluntary evacuation of New Orleans and surrounding parishes will begin on Saturday with a mandatory evacuation on Sunday. This evacuation will send hundreds of thousands of evacuees into Mississippi which may be combined with thousands of evacuees from the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Jones County Emergency Management Agency Public Information Officer Lance Chancellor said. “Jones County residents are urged to complete preparations for this hurricane including stocking bottled water, canned food, medications, and fueling vehicles in advance of Sunday.”
Hotels in Laurel, and much further north, are booked. Many retail outlets have run out of some of the necessary supplies, but have plans to restock as often as possible.
No schools closures have been announced at this time. Since Monday is Labor Day, area schools, including Jones County Junior College, already have plans to be off Monday. JCJC officials said they will close if the Jones County School District closes.
Laurel Mayor Melvin Mack said much has been done since Katrina to help the city recover quicker after a disaster.
“We have done a lot of things,” Mack said.
Mack said there is a better plan in place to help emergency responders get to people who need help. He said there are shelters located and contacts have been made for ice. Mack said a person in Milwaukee supplied 40 generators for the city’s use. Some will be placed at fire stations and City Hall.
Mack also said the city shouldn’t lose water pressure because of plans to keep power running the system. But, he said, people should also know falling trees can destroy water lines, causing localized water outages.
Curtis Pitts with the Housing Authority of Laurel also said they are urging residents to be prepared.
“Basically we’re going to send out a bulletin to our residents to get self prepared — the ones who can,” Pitts said.
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