Tracking Hurricane Gustav
August 31, 2008
For the last 36 hours all eyes have been focused on the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Gustav slowly makes it way toward the northern gulf coast, probably making landfall just west of New Orleans sometime tomorrow. Three years ago Hurricane Katrina devastated southern Louisiana and the Mississippi gulf coast. With rebuilding far from complete, another massive storm is bearing down on the same area. The big difference is that those in charge (local, state, national) seem much better prepared. And people are taking the warning seriously. You can’t find a hotel anywhere in Mississippi and probably not in Alabama either. And certainly not in Memphis. I heard this morning that the local arena here in Tupelo is being opened for those evacuating the hurricane region.
Last night during the football game, the announcer said that starting this morning the two interstate highways that lead from New Orleans into southern Mississippi have been changed to “reverse-flow,” meaning that all four lanes are northbound to make evacuation easier.
Our dear friends Brian and Tracie Howes, their son Brennan (and their dog), and Tracie’s parents live near New Orleans. They just left to join the long line of evacuees moving out of harm’s way. They will stay with us in Tupelo for several days until the hurricane has passed through. Because we live in northeast Mississippi, we may get some rain or wind, but it will be secondary to the big storm in Louisiana.