Hurricane Isaac’s aftermath could rival that of Hurricane Katrina, since it’s expected to linger over the area with drenching rain and powerful sustained winds, officials said Tuesday as the storm’s feeder bands rolled in.
The storm’s presence opened the Pike County Community Safe Room in its official capacity for the first time at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Officials planned to close it at noon Thursday.
Pike County Civil Defense Director Richard Coghlan said the duration of the powerful winds will cause the most damage.
Coghlan said the storm is different from Katrina in that he really is having a hard time judging the extent of what Isaac could do.
“It could still be a 65-mph storm when it gets close to us,” he said at Tuesday’s countywide official briefing. “It will get progressively worse from this point on.”
The storm brought its first rains and wind gusts to McComb early Tuesday afternoon, and conditions began to deteriorate throughout the evening.
Isaac was expected to hit with force Tuesday night and bring strong winds through Thursday afternoon.
There will likely be 45 mph sustained winds throughout the storm, meaning that the wind will continually pound trees and structures.
Today, residents could expect heavy rainfall and southeast 30 to 40 mph winds with gusts as high as 60 mph.
Rainfall of about two to three inches is possible.
Officials expect widespread power outages and severe damage.
A tornado watch went into effect at 1 p.m. Tuesday and continued until 7 p.m. Other watches and warnings are expected to pop up throughout the storm.
Flooding has also become a major concern. McComb Public Works Director Philip Russell expected flooding in low-lying areas. The area remained under a flash flood watch until 7 a.m. Thursday.
Officials said 3 to 6 inches of rain could fall in a single day, with at least 10 expected throughout the storm.
The Mississippi Army National Guard is on stand-by with 200 troops stationed in Poplarville ready to make their way to McComb if needed.
At the FEMA shelter, people lined up outside the gates about an hour before it was supposed to open.
“I’m here because I have nowhere else to go,” said Philip Siegel, a chef on an offshore oil platform from Florida who headed north to escape from Isaac’s wrath.
Coghlan expected the shelter to be at or near capacity.
If the shelter fills up, officials will open another shelter, possibly at McComb First Baptist Church on Delaware Avenue, which also served as an evacuation shelter during Hurricane Katrina.
American Red Cross volunteers arrived at the FEMA building before 5 p.m. to make preparations for the influx of evacuees.
Also Tuesday, officials from President Barack Obama to McComb Mayor Whitney Rawlings issued disaster declarations.
The McComb city board signed an emergency declaration at a specially called meeting Tuesday. The move allows the city to be reimbursed by the government for supplies needed for preparations, as well as repairs after Hurricane Isaac leaves its mark on the city.
Obama’s declaration was for areas of Mississippi under threat of rain and high winds from Isaac. The declaration frees up federal resources to help state and local agencies deal with the storm and its aftermath. It makes federal support available to save lives, protect public health and safety and preserve property in coastal areas.
The declaration affects 29 counties in central south Mississippi. Those are Amite, Clarke, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Rankin, Stone, Walthall, Wayne, Wilkinson and Yazoo.
The president declared a state of emergency in Louisiana late Monday.
