By Megan Huckaby
Enterprise-Journal
Hurricane preparedness is in full swing in southwest Mississippi as Tropical Storm Isaac threatens to make its presence known Tuesday and strike with full force on Wednesday, the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
The area remains under a tropical storm warning.
Pike County Civil Defense Director Richard Coghlan said he doesn’t expect flooding to be a major issue as most of the water “runs off fairly quickly,” but winds are expected to bring down trees and power lines.
“Today is a good day to make preparations,” Coghlan said. “We are going to lose power, so get your generators in order.”
As of this morning, Isaac was 425 miles south southeast of Gulfport and 435 miles southeast of New Orleans, moving northwest at 10 to 15 mph.
Isaac is expected to make landfall early Wednesday at the mouth of the Mississippi River as a Category 1 storm, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm could hit the area as early as Tuesday, Coghlan said.
He said the area can expect winds from 30 to 40 miles per hour, with gusts up to 70 mph.
As Isaac moves in Tuesday, the weather service said the area could see northeast winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 35 mph on Tuesday, with winds increasing to 30 to 40 mph with gusts to around 55 mph.
On Wednesday, forecasts call for east winds of 45 to 55 mph with gusts to around 75 mph increasing to 55 to 65 mph with gusts to around 85 mph in the afternoon.
The brunt of the weather is expected to clear by Wednesday night.
Coghlan also asks people to prepare for the imminent threat early and accordingly.
“People need to make sure they have all their lawn furniture and trash cans put up,” he said. “Clean out your gutters. We are expecting quite a bit of rain in a short period of time.”
Local officials were expected to meet this afternoon to discuss preparedness and response plans. Officials from schools in Pike, Amite and Walthall counties said this morning that they’ll determine this afternoon whether Tuesday and Wednesday classes will be dismissed.
Meanwhile, Isaac is a bigger threat farther south, making McComb a prime place for evacuees, Coghlan said.
“We expect quite a large influx of people from Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Coghlan said. “Most motels are filling up and some are already at capacity.”
Interstate 55 is not expected to convert to contra-flow — in which all four lanes are open only to northbound traffic — and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has said that he doesn’t expect to request contra-flow, Coghlan said.
However, that could change as Isaac moves closer.
Officials haven’t determined if they’ll open the new FEMA Community Safe Room, which was built to withstand hurricane-force winds. Isaac would be the first weather event to open the shelter, which was completed earlier this year.
“We are monitoring the storm and making preparations with Red Cross in case we have to open the shelter,” Coghlan said.
If the shelter opens, it will take in evacuees on a first-come, first-serve basis, he said.
Residents were ahead of the game and swamped stores like Walmart Sunday in the hours after Gov. Phil Bryant announced a state of emergency for Mississippi.
The store set out pallet after pallet of bottled water and was quickly out of bread and many canned goods.
And gas stations saw crowded pumps on Sunday evening, with shoppers filling up vehicles and gas cans and clerks reporting a surge in sales after the declaration.
Meanwhile, vacant local hotels rooms are hard to find.
Tee Panchal, manager of the Deerfield Inn in McComb, said the motel had already been booked with oil workers.
“There may be some of them who extend their stays, but some I expect them to check out and go back to their homes,” Panchal said.
Panchal said he would know more about availability for evacuees after check out time at 11 a.m. today.
At Executive Inn, front desk manager Brian Williams said there are about 11 rooms available now. He will know more about room availability after check out time today.
Employees at Best Western and Holiday Inn Express said the hotels have a few rooms available for tonight only but are booked up thereafter.
Other hotels reported being booked through at least Thursday.
