Crédito: fuente
«The bottom line continues to be that Sally is expected to be a dangerous slow-moving hurricane near the coast of southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama during the next 2-3 days,» the National Hurricane Center warned.
As the storm approaches, coastal parts of Gulf states are preparing for heavy rainfall and life-threatening storm surge. Sally’s center, as of Monday morning, was expected to pass east of New Orleans, meaning Mississippi’s Gulfport and Biloxi areas may see the brunt of its winds, rain and storm surge.
Carrying sustained winds of 65 mph, Sally was about 165 miles southeast of Biloxi on Monday morning.
«I think a lot of the folks were still stocked up when Marco and Laura come up because it was a near miss, but a lot of folks got prepared for that,» said Bill Collins, who manages a hardware store in Gulfport.
Resident Al Ward was grabbing propane tanks in case he needs to do his cooking outdoors once the storm passes, he said.
«I’m doing what everybody else that has any sense would do,» Ward told the station. «I’m being prepared for the worst and hoping it will be as it has been earlier this year. We dodged the bullet.»
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a preliminary state of emergency Sunday.
The storm «is probably going to persist over most portions of the state for basically 48 hours,» he said.
Louisiana still recovering from Laura
Almost 80,000 people remain without power in southwest Louisiana following Laura. At the peak, more than 800,000 customers were without power.
The customers still in the dark pose «very complicated cases» because they are closer to the coast, where infrastructure damage was most severe, said Louisiana Emergency Management director Mike Steel.
Mandatory evacuations ordered across Louisiana
With Sally en route, mandatory evacuations have been issued for part or all of several parishes, including in Orleans.
Some evacuations, including those in New Orleans for those who live outside the levee protection system, were scheduled to go into effect at 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET) Sunday. Most residents live inside the protection system.
The coast between the mouth of the Mississippi River and Ocean Springs, Mississippi, east of Biloxi, could witness the same surge, while most coastal areas are expected to see between 1 and 8 feet of storm surge, the National Hurricane Center said.
New Orleans’ 99 drainage pumps, critical to staving off street flooding, are fully operational, according to the city’s Sewerage and Water Board, which activated its emergency operations center early Monday.
«You should be gathering your emergency supplies, three days’ worth,» Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, warned.
A mandatory evacuation has been ordered in St. Charles Parish, which is home to more than 52,000 residents and located on the banks of the Mississippi River.
At least one nursing home has already started evacuating residents, Edwards said. Three jails have also evacuated 1,200 inmates, he said.
Mississippi and Alabama assessing risk
Mississippi officials are working to make decisions on possible mandatory evacuations depending on changes in the weather, Reeves said Sunday.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey warned residents to stay vigilant.
«While it is currently not being predicted as a direct hit to our coastal areas, we know well that we should not take the threat lightly,» Ivey said Sunday. «We offer our prayers and support to our friends in Louisiana as they are expected to once again be in the path of severe weather.»
CNN’s Kay Jones, Judson Jones, Brandon Miller and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.
