Report from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency

By Rachel Fretz
Homeland1 editor
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HOMELAND1 — Hurricane Gustav ripped into Gulfport, Mississippi, Monday littering the city with debris and damaging a number of buildings.

Mississippi Highway Patrol vehicle attempts to make its way through northbound traffic on U.S. 55 Sunday as evacuees line the interstate on their way out of the path of Hurricane Gustav Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008. (AP Photo/Therese Apel, The Daily Leader)

Homeland1 talked to Katherine Crowell, Public Information Officer for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for an update on evacuees and the situation on the ground in Mississippi, on Tuesday.

The most immediate threats in the state, Crowell said, are downed trees and flooding.

There are over 14,000 people in 100 shelters around Mississippi, and over 2 million evacuees in the entire Gulf region, including New Orleans.

"We have a lot of evacuees who are anxious to get home,” Crowell said, “but we’re urging them to wait until their local authorities say it's safe."

Downed trees and power lines make it difficult and very dangerous for people to go back home. There have been limited reports of flooded homes, but given the storm’s continued threat, the final damage assessment has not yet been tallied.

On Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center issued advisories on tropical storms Hanna, Ike and Josephine, which are forming over the Atlantic. But immediately, first responders on the ground in Mississippi are focused on protecting people and property.

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Massive power outages around the region —1.4 million power outages, with 90,000 in Mississippi alone — have posed a significant challenge in getting people the information they need.

"Our agency is working to get all of the information we have about the outages or road closures to the media, specifically radio stations, so they can listen in their cars or in shelters," said Crowell.

MEMA is working closely with other emergency response agencies to determine what additional resources evacuees from other places may need.

Two major Gulf region highways, 90 and 604, as well as a major thoroughfare from Natchez, Miss. to Jackson, are still closed due to debris and water — one of the many reasons, Crowell said, why the MEMA is urging people to wait to go home until infrastructure is repaired.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin announced Thursday morning that evacuees could return to the city. Outlying regions are awaiting the green light.

Ohio National Guard units prepare to leave for the Hurricane Gustav recovery in Louisiana Thursday morning in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Looking ahead

According to the Associated Press, Hanna's maximum sustained winds slipped to 70 mph and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it could weaken further. But it still has the potential to become a hurricane again by Thursday.

The hurricane center said its forecast track would carry Hanna toward "the east coast of Florida, Georgia or South Carolina in two to three days."

Newly formed Tropical Storm Ike was cruising westward across the central Atlantic and was projected to near the storm-weary Bahamas by Sunday. It had winds of 60 mph and could become a hurricane on Wednesday.

Still further to the east, Tropical Storm Josephine formed Tuesday and it was heading west at about 15 mph, with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph. The hurricane center said it could near hurricane force by Wednesday or Thursday.

For more information, visit www.msema.org

The Associated Press contributed to this report.