Facing the threat of Tropical Storm Cristobal impacting Mississippi possibly as soon as this weekend, Gov. Tate Reeves and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Greg Michel went to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Friday to discuss efforts to prepare for the storm.
“There is no question that the coronavirus complicates the opening of shelters, but we made the decision to open shelters,” Reeves said in his daily livestreamed address.
The governor said this is a particularly challenging hurricane season because it is coming in the midst of a global pandemic.
He said Michel and the local emergency management agency directors for coastal Harrison, Jackson and Hancock counties built a game plan for how they plan to open up storm shelters.
“Life and safety are paramount, so we are certainly not turning anyone away,” Michel said.
Reeves urged Mississippians to avoid shelters if possible and suggested staying with relatives further north.
“If you need shelters, they will be there,” Reeves said. “We don’t anticipate this storm is going to turn into a hurricane, but we will monitor it. Until the eye of the storm gets into the gulf, it is really a crapshoot.”
Michel said shelters will look a lot different, starting with requirements to wear face masks and practice social distancing. Hand sanitizer and masks will be provided.
He said the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to send employees and other resources to the Coast ahead of the storm.
Reeves said he is happy that FEMA is coming to help and added that anyone who needs help will be able to get it.
“The best way to respond to national disasters … is for Mississippians to take care of Mississippians,” he said.
Reeves said the hardest part of the hurricane season — and dealing with any disaster — is the unknown.
“When you think of the floods, prison riots, tornados and a third of National Guard were in the Middle East in 2019, our resources are a little more thin than they used to be, but people are going to step up,” he said.
As of Friday afternoon, Cristobal was off the coast of Mexico and expected to move north.
The National Hurricane Center said it brings the danger of a life-threatening storm surge from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs.
Forecasts show the storm landing late Sunday or early Monday, moving through Louisiana and parts of Mississippi and Texas by the end of the day Monday.
