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Gulf Coast Residents Ready Homes, Businesses for Ivan
Written by
Lesly C. Hallman
, Staff Writer, Redcross.org
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 — Residents across the Gulf of Mexico are boarding up their homes and businesses and making evacuation plans as Hurricane Ivan has shifted north and may hit anywhere from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle in the coming days.
New Orleans has already declared a state of emergency and evacuations are strongly recommended for residents of the city and its suburbs. Mandatory evacuations have been announced for the coastal areas of Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parish, both east of New Orleans in low-lying coastal areas. Coastal communities in Mississippi and Alabama have also begun issuing evacuation orders. A hurricane watch is currently in effect for the northern Gulf of Mexico from Morgan City, La. east of New Orleans, to St. Marks, Fl. in the panhandle. A hurricane warning will most likely be issued for a portion or all of that area at some point today. The storm is currently about 435 south-southwest of the Mississippi River, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The Red Cross is opening shelters in locations safe enough to survive the storm’s wrath and away from any potential flooding that may occur. The lowest point in Louisiana is found in New Orleans, and at eight feet below sea level it is one of the lowest points anywhere in the United States. As a result, flooding is of the utmost concern for residents and business in and around the city. Roughly 1 million residents live in the area.
The eye of Hurricane Ivan as seen from the International Space Station, 230 miles above Earth. (Photo Credit: NASA) |
“We’ve already opened five shelters for people who have begun voluntary evacuations of New Orleans and the surrounding areas of Jefferson and Orleans parishes,” said area Red Cross spokeswoman Margaret O’Brien-Molina. “People are being directed to three information points in the state, where they can check in and be sent to available shelters.”
Even the New Orleans chapter of the Red Cross is relocating its offices to Covington, La., north of Lake Pontchartrain, to escape expected flooding and continue providing assistance to the public after the storm.
“We are encouraging people to leave the city,” said New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin during a press conference. “This is a very dangerous storm. We will continue to monitor conditions and will do everything we can to keep the city and its citizens safe.”
The hurricane has weakened in relative terms, but is still a Category 4 storm packing sustained winds of up to 140 mph. Ivan brushed across the island nation of Cuba on Monday, its eye slamming the western tip of the country with 160 mph sustained winds before moving off into the Gulf Coast toward Mexico and taking a turn north toward the U.S. Across the Caribbean Ivan has spread destruction, killing at least 70 people and destroying entire communities in Grenada and Jamaica.
The Red Cross strongly urges families and businesses to rehearse their disaster preparedness and evacuation plans , or create one immediately if one is not yet in place.
You can help the victims of Hurricane Ivan and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting our Online Donation Page.
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