MEMA Gustav Update
Verbatim from a MEMA news release, 9 a.m. Tuesday:
Power outages:84,173 households without power. Entergy has 20,034; Electric Power Associations ofMississippi have 14,936 and MS Power has 49,203.Pearl River has 10,230 outages. Hancock has 16,401. Harrison has 15,610. Jackson has 1,096.These counties make up 43,327 of the outages statewide.Wind gusts in some areas are delaying the process of fixing some outages.
Tornadoes Plague State Today; Evacuees Should Stay Put
Mississippi residents woke up today to tornado watches and warnings swirling around the state, especially in central Mississippi, in the aftermatch of Hurricane Gustav. As we return to work and school, the JFP's best advice is to listen to Mississippi Public Broadcasting, which is live with constant updates, as it has been all weekend. Also, Gov. Haley Barbour is cautioning evacuees not to try to return to the Coast until Wednesday, even some highways down there are starting to re-open.
MEMA Advises Residents To Seek Shelter From Ike's Floods
[Verbatim from MEMA] PEARL – Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Womack wants all residents living in low-lying areas to seek shelter on higher ground because of flooding from Hurricane Ike.
Barbour Issues State of Emergency for Hurricane Ike
[Verbatim from the Governor's office] (JACKSON, Mississippi)Today Governor Haley Barbour issued a State of Emergency for the entire State of Mississippi due to the potential threat posed by Hurricane Ike, which has demonstrated capability to impact parts of the state according to current predictions by the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center.
How to Donate to Help Hurricane Victims
Also see: Jackpedia: Hurricane Gustav to get/post vital information.
Red Cross Needs Volunteers In Jackson
Also see: Jackpedia: Hurricane Gustav to get/post vital information.
Blood Donors Needed
Mississippi Blood Services Main Center
Mississippi Blood Services is reporting an urgent need for blood donations due to Hurricane Gustav. Hospitals and blood drawing stations across the state closed because of the storm, creating a shortage of available blood. If you don't have time to volunteer or money to donate, you can still stop by MBS' Jackson location:
So Far, So Good: Whew
It's 2:04 p.m. Monday, and Gustav didn't turn out to be the monster we feared. Thank God. It's raining here in Jackson, and we're keeping our eyes out for tornados. Our biggest challenge in the city is caring for evacuees in the shelters. There is early evidence that the shelter situation, and the contraflow from Louisiana, didn't go as smoothly as it could have. We'll be looking into that more.
Roads Closed Along Coast In Anticipation of Flooding From Ike
The following are times for the strongest possibility of flooding at high tide:
[Verbatim From MEMA] PEARL–Hurricane Ike is expected to bring significant tidal surge to Hancock Harrison and Jackson counties even though the storm is heading toward the Texas coast.
Jumping the Line: Caught in the Crossfire of Ridgeland's Demographic Struggles
Many parents in urban areas, met with the spatial and academic barrier of their zip codes, have no choice but to send their children to the public school available to them within their school districts, regardless of its performance.