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Ivan shutting down Gulf Coast
By Jill Dunn
Residents evacuated the Gulf Coast from Grand Isle, La., to Apalachicola, Fla., heeding warnings that Hurricane Ivan had weakened only slightly in its journey across the Gulf.
With the eye of the Category Four hurricane due to hit Mobile Bay late Wednesday or early Thursday, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley issued mandatory evacuation orders for areas south of Interstate 10. U.S. Interstate 65 had all four lanes open from north of Mobile to just south of Montgomery for northbound traffic only. “Traffic is moving smoothly, and no problems have been reported by the Department of Transportation,” Riley said in a statement Wednesday.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour issued mandatory evacuations for its Gulf Coast counties. One thousand state Army and Air National Guard began moving to South Mississippi Wednesday to provide support.
Evacuation orders were issued for the Florida panhandle and Southern Louisiana as well.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco closed state offices in 27 parishes. All bridges out of New Orleans were closed as of 2 p.m. Wednesday because of high wind warnings.
Ivan, which killed at least 68 people in the Caribbean, could be the worst hurricane to hit Alabama since Frederick devastated the state in 1979.
The National Hurricane Center announced late Wednesday that tornados might occur in the next 24 hours in southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and southwestern Georgia.
Accuweather forecasters also have warned that Tropical Storm Jeanne could become a hurricane and Florida residents should monitor its progress in upcoming days. It hit Puerto Rico Wednesday, flooding areas and knocking out power lines.
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