09-15-2004, 08:42 AM
:D- Hope we are all happy with our current allocations![/b]
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast Wednesday are bracing for Hurricane Ivan, which has maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and is expected to begin pounding the coast with heavy winds and rains.[/b]
New Orleans' mayor urged the Big Easy's half-million residents to evacuate and residents of low-lying Gulf Coast communities were ordered to leave Tuesday as Hurricane Ivan moved toward the northern Gulf Coast with 140 mph winds.
Forecasters said Ivan could hit land anywhere from the western Florida Panhandle to the southeastern Louisiana coast as a major hurricane early Thursday.
In New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin said there was a 22 percent chance his city would take a direct hit from Ivan. Since most of the city lies below sea level, surrounded by levees along the Mississippi River, the result would be a catastrophe, he said.
"If we get a storm like Ivan to hit us directly or to become really close to us, then we could have a situation where we have 12 to 18 feet of water throughout the city," Nagin said.
Residents had begun following his advice Tuesday afternoon, with bumper-to-bumper traffic lining the causeway over Lake Ponchartrain to the north. If people can't get out of New Orleans, Nagin said, they should do a "vertical evacuation."
"Basically, go to hotels and high-rise buildings in the city," he explained.
New Orleans' usual party spots -- Bourbon Street among them -- were virtually empty as tourists and residents headed to higher ground. (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/15/ivan.neworleans.reut/index.html))
A very large storm
At 8 a.m. ET, Ivan was centered 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The Category 4 storm was moving toward the north-northwest near 12 mph with a gradual turn to the north expected on Wednesday. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 105 miles from the center, while tropical storm-force winds stretched 260 miles outward.
Hurricane warnings were posted from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Apalachicola, Florida, and a hurricane watch extended westward from Grand Isle to Morgan City, Louisiana.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to west of Grand Isle and from east of Apalachicola to Yankeetown, Florida.
"This is not only a very, very powerful hurricane, but it's a very large hurricane," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "It's indeed going to impact a very large area."
The predictions for New Orleans are "not the worst-case scenario for New Orleans, but it's getting close," Mayfield said. The worst damage would be east of the eye, as high winds drive high waves onshore.
Mississippians and Alabamians who live south of Interstate 10 were placed under mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday.
In Mississippi, schools closed early, as were the casinos in Biloxi and the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula, which employs more than 10,000 people.
Bernie Burkholder, president and CEO of the Treasure Bay Casino, said hotel employees are evacuating guests from 200 of the 260 rooms at his property.
"When the storm's over, we'll stick out our heads and clean up and rebuild," he said.
Heather Harper, who lives about a block north of the beach in Bay St. Louis, said neighbors who attempted to book hotel rooms inland reported having to go as far north as Nashville and Memphis to find a vacancy, she said.
"Everybody down here is helping each other board up," Harper said. "Some people are going to Baton Rouge, some people are going to Hattiesburg." But Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway, who lives only a block from the beach, said he and his wife will stay in their home -- even though he admits Ivan scares him.
"I've been afraid of that storm since the beginning, and it's still moving in our direction," Holloway said.
NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center near Biloxi has been opened as a shelter, but Harper said authorities have advised residents "not to stay in shelters here unless we absolutely have
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast Wednesday are bracing for Hurricane Ivan, which has maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and is expected to begin pounding the coast with heavy winds and rains.[/b]
New Orleans' mayor urged the Big Easy's half-million residents to evacuate and residents of low-lying Gulf Coast communities were ordered to leave Tuesday as Hurricane Ivan moved toward the northern Gulf Coast with 140 mph winds.
Forecasters said Ivan could hit land anywhere from the western Florida Panhandle to the southeastern Louisiana coast as a major hurricane early Thursday.
In New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin said there was a 22 percent chance his city would take a direct hit from Ivan. Since most of the city lies below sea level, surrounded by levees along the Mississippi River, the result would be a catastrophe, he said.
"If we get a storm like Ivan to hit us directly or to become really close to us, then we could have a situation where we have 12 to 18 feet of water throughout the city," Nagin said.
Residents had begun following his advice Tuesday afternoon, with bumper-to-bumper traffic lining the causeway over Lake Ponchartrain to the north. If people can't get out of New Orleans, Nagin said, they should do a "vertical evacuation."
"Basically, go to hotels and high-rise buildings in the city," he explained.
New Orleans' usual party spots -- Bourbon Street among them -- were virtually empty as tourists and residents headed to higher ground. (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/15/ivan.neworleans.reut/index.html))
A very large storm
At 8 a.m. ET, Ivan was centered 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The Category 4 storm was moving toward the north-northwest near 12 mph with a gradual turn to the north expected on Wednesday. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 105 miles from the center, while tropical storm-force winds stretched 260 miles outward.
Hurricane warnings were posted from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Apalachicola, Florida, and a hurricane watch extended westward from Grand Isle to Morgan City, Louisiana.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to west of Grand Isle and from east of Apalachicola to Yankeetown, Florida.
"This is not only a very, very powerful hurricane, but it's a very large hurricane," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "It's indeed going to impact a very large area."
The predictions for New Orleans are "not the worst-case scenario for New Orleans, but it's getting close," Mayfield said. The worst damage would be east of the eye, as high winds drive high waves onshore.
Mississippians and Alabamians who live south of Interstate 10 were placed under mandatory evacuation orders Tuesday.
In Mississippi, schools closed early, as were the casinos in Biloxi and the Northrop Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula, which employs more than 10,000 people.
Bernie Burkholder, president and CEO of the Treasure Bay Casino, said hotel employees are evacuating guests from 200 of the 260 rooms at his property.
"When the storm's over, we'll stick out our heads and clean up and rebuild," he said.
Heather Harper, who lives about a block north of the beach in Bay St. Louis, said neighbors who attempted to book hotel rooms inland reported having to go as far north as Nashville and Memphis to find a vacancy, she said.
"Everybody down here is helping each other board up," Harper said. "Some people are going to Baton Rouge, some people are going to Hattiesburg." But Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway, who lives only a block from the beach, said he and his wife will stay in their home -- even though he admits Ivan scares him.
"I've been afraid of that storm since the beginning, and it's still moving in our direction," Holloway said.
NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center near Biloxi has been opened as a shelter, but Harper said authorities have advised residents "not to stay in shelters here unless we absolutely have