It will likely be Tuesday before forecasters know whether Hurricane Ike will reach Alabama, according to the National Weather Service.

Continue reading "Hurricane Ike's path uncertain" »

As evacuees from Hurricane Gustav headed back to Louisiana, Baldwin County community service agency members prepared for a possible landfall from Hurricane Ike.

Ann Ryals, director of the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency, told members of Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster, a network of relief agencies, that while some forecasts had called for Hurricane Ike to move north in the Atlantic, the Friday projection moved the storm into the Gulf of Mexico around Wednesday.

Kelly Childress, acting VOAD chairwoman, said agencies and residents should be prepared to face the demands of another storm.

Continue reading "Baldwin County disaster relief agencies prepare for Ike" »

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) -- Tropical Storm Hanna cruised toward the Carolinas on Friday, forecast to hit land overnight and promising to deliver gusty winds and heavy rain during a dash up the Eastern Seaboard that could wash out the weekend for millions of people.

Not far behind was a much bigger worry: a ferocious-looking Hurricane Ike, on a path similar to the one taken by Andrew, the Category 5 monster that devastated South Florida in 1992. Ike could hit Florida by the middle of next week.

Continue reading "Speedy Tropical Storm Hanna charges for Carolinas" »

Tropical Storm Hanna picked up speed today as it cruised toward the Carolinas, promising to deliver gusty winds and heavy rain during a dash up the Eastern Seaboard.

Not far behind was a much bigger worry: a still ferocious-looking Hurricane Ike, a little south of the one taken by Andrew, the Category 5 monster that devastated South Florida in 1992.

Continue reading "Hurricane Ike could enter Gulf of Mexico, forecasters say" »

MOBILE, Ala. - The American Red Cross closed the shelter at Revelation Missionary Baptist Church in Mobile today, sending its remaining evacuees across town to the shelter at St. Paul's Lutheran Church on Cottage Hill Road.

By 4 p.m. today, only 22 Louisiana residents remained at St. Pauls, which was down from more than 100 evacuees earlier in the week, said Mercedes Jackson, shelter manager and a member of the Lutheran congregation.

Most of the 70 or so out-of-state residents who sought shelter at Revelation Missionary Baptist earlier in the week headed home today, even though it may be weeks before power is restored to much of southern Louisiana.

Elizabeth Saunders, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross, said the shelter at St. Paul's Lutheran will close at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Read more about this and other hurricane-related news in Saturday's Press-Register.

HOLDEN BEACH, N.C. (AP) -- Beach vacationers in the Carolinas packed up and headed inland Friday as Tropical Storm Hanna cruised steadily toward the coast, teetering on the verge of becoming a hurricane before an expected overnight landfall.

The storm will likely wash out the weekend from the Carolinas to Maine. Tropical storm watches or warnings ran from Georgia to Rhode Island, and included all of Chesapeake Bay, the Washington D.C. area and Long Island.

Continue reading "Tropical Storm Hanna set to soak US East Coast" »

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) -- Some Southeastern states declared emergencies and officials urged residents to head inland Thursday as Tropical Storm Hanna headed toward the Atlantic coast, where it could bring high winds and rain from South Carolina to Maine.

Meanwhile, disaster planners eyed ferocious-looking Hurricane Ike strengthening in the Atlantic. And with power outages and problems from Hurricane Gustav lingering in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and relief groups found themselves juggling three storms.

Continue reading "Southeast braces for Hanna as Ike strengthens" »

Some Southeastern states declared emergencies and officials urged residents to head inland today as Tropical Storm Hanna headed toward the Atlantic coast while disaster planners also kept tabs on Hurricane Ike in the Atlantic.

The long-range projections call for Ike to dip to the southwest then bend to the northwest. The storm could be near the northern Bahamas and the southeast coast of Florida by Monday.

Forecasters are unsure if a trough of low pressure moving into the East will be able to turn Ike up the East Coast or whether Ike will head into the Gulf of Mexico.

Continue reading "East Coast eyes parade of storms" »

MOBILE, Ala. - More than 130 out-of-state evacuees remained in Red Cross shelters today in Mobile, even as thousands headed back home to check out the damage Hurricane Gustav left in its wake.

An estimated 2 million residents fled southern Louisiana and portions of coastal Mississippi earlier this week, as the storm prompted mandatory evacuations of vulnerable areas.

At least 70 people ate lunch at Revelation Missionary Baptist Church on Taylor Lane today, where Bryan Harper is the Red Cross shelter manager and director of the Family Life Center.

"We're maintaining," he said. "Sometimes you cannot control your situation in life and that's where people have to step in."

CLANTON- Louisiana residents in the state of Alabama as result of Hurricane Gustav maybe heading back home as soon as this weekend. Today (Thursday) the first portion of the bus re-entry process will be underway. The first step of the plan involves staging the buses at the fairgrounds in Birmingham. On Friday they will then be moved to the shelters where the evacuees are located in preparation for re-entry back to Louisiana. Early Saturday morning the evacuees should start loading the buses.

The plan to get Louisiana evacuees back home has been a joint effort between Alabama and Louisiana state officials, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Alabama Department of Transportation and the Alabama Department of Public Safety will help ensure the bus drivers have a safe route and an escort out of Alabama.

Continue reading "Plans are underway to return evacuees to Louisiana" »

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Residents moved boats and booked inland hotel rooms while National Guard troops prepared to deploy along the Southeastern coast as Tropical Storm Hanna plowed through the Atlantic on Thursday, with Category 4 Hurricane Ike trailing a few days behind.

Gov. Mark Sanford planned to ask residents along South Carolina's northern coast to head inland starting at noon. But the uncertain path of Hanna, which may become a hurricane by the time it hits land sometime Saturday, had emergency officials holding off ordering coastal residents to head inland. Still, high schools in South Carolina canceled football games and workers in Savannah, Ga., put storm shutters over the windows of the gold-domed City Hall.

Continue reading "US readies for Hanna; Cat. 4 Ike close behind" »

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Officials along the southern Atlantic coast held off ordering evacuations today amid uncertainty about where Tropical Storm Hanna might come ashore and how strong it will be when it gets there.

Meanwhile, Ike gained hurricane strength northeast of the Leeward Islands today as it continued on a course that could bring it toward the Gulf of Mexico sometime next week.

Farther east, Tropical Storm Josephine showed some weakening as it continued chugging west.

Continue reading "Ike becomes hurricane" »

SAINT-MARC, Haiti (AP) -- Far-reaching Tropical Storm Hanna drenched flood-plagued Haiti on Wednesday, adding to the miseries of a country that has lost 110 lives to mudslides and flooding since mid-August.

The storm that had been drifting south and east finally swung toward the north-northwest on Wednesday. It was expected to sweep across the Bahamas and then start climbing along the U.S. coastline by the weekend, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami -- with a 20 percent chance it could bring tropical storm force winds to New York City. Continue reading "Hanna dumps more rain on flood-plagued Haiti" »

MOBILE, Ala. - Mobile's Internal Revenue Service office reopened today after having been closed because of Hurricane Gustav.

Normally open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the office provides limited taxpayer assistance on a first-come, first-served basis.

Taxpayers who need assistance with federal tax issues may also call the IRS toll-free at 1-800-829-1040 or visit the IRS Web page.

Today, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other Gulf Coast state officials are identifying the transportation schedule for Louisiana evacuees' eventual return home.

"Safety is our first priority," said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer for Alabama Mike Moore. "We know residents brought here by bus are anxious to return to their homes. As soon as parish officials in Louisiana determine it is safe, return transportation will be provided by the State of Alabama."

Continue reading "State and federal officials coordinating efforts to help Gustav evacuees return home" »

The McWane Science Center is offering free admission, through Thursday, for people who are in the Birmingham area as evacuees of Hurricane Gustav.

Continue reading "McWane Science Center offers free admission to hurricane evacuees" »

MOBILE, Ala. - The American Red Cross closed the shelter at Revelation Missionary Baptist Church in Mobile today, sending its remaining evacuees across town to the shelter at St. Paul's Lutheran Church on Cottage Hill Road.

By 4 p.m. today, only 22 Louisiana residents remained at St. Pauls, which was down from more than 100 evacuees earlier in the week, said Mercedes Jackson, shelter manager and a member of the Lutheran congregation.

Most of the 70 or so out-of-state residents who sought shelter at Revelation Missionary Baptist earlier in the week headed home today, even though it may be weeks before power is restored to much of southern Louisiana.

Elizabeth Saunders, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross, said the shelter at St. Paul's Lutheran will close at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Read more about this and other hurricane-related news in Saturday's Press-Register.

HOLDEN BEACH, N.C. (AP) -- Beach vacationers in the Carolinas packed up and headed inland Friday as Tropical Storm Hanna cruised steadily toward the coast, teetering on the verge of becoming a hurricane before an expected overnight landfall.

The storm will likely wash out the weekend from the Carolinas to Maine. Tropical storm watches or warnings ran from Georgia to Rhode Island, and included all of Chesapeake Bay, the Washington D.C. area and Long Island.

Continue reading "Tropical Storm Hanna set to soak US East Coast" »

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) -- Some Southeastern states declared emergencies and officials urged residents to head inland Thursday as Tropical Storm Hanna headed toward the Atlantic coast, where it could bring high winds and rain from South Carolina to Maine.

Meanwhile, disaster planners eyed ferocious-looking Hurricane Ike strengthening in the Atlantic. And with power outages and problems from Hurricane Gustav lingering in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and relief groups found themselves juggling three storms.

Continue reading "Southeast braces for Hanna as Ike strengthens" »

Some Southeastern states declared emergencies and officials urged residents to head inland today as Tropical Storm Hanna headed toward the Atlantic coast while disaster planners also kept tabs on Hurricane Ike in the Atlantic.

The long-range projections call for Ike to dip to the southwest then bend to the northwest. The storm could be near the northern Bahamas and the southeast coast of Florida by Monday.

Forecasters are unsure if a trough of low pressure moving into the East will be able to turn Ike up the East Coast or whether Ike will head into the Gulf of Mexico.

Continue reading "East Coast eyes parade of storms" »

MOBILE, Ala. - More than 130 out-of-state evacuees remained in Red Cross shelters today in Mobile, even as thousands headed back home to check out the damage Hurricane Gustav left in its wake.

An estimated 2 million residents fled southern Louisiana and portions of coastal Mississippi earlier this week, as the storm prompted mandatory evacuations of vulnerable areas.

At least 70 people ate lunch at Revelation Missionary Baptist Church on Taylor Lane today, where Bryan Harper is the Red Cross shelter manager and director of the Family Life Center.

"We're maintaining," he said. "Sometimes you cannot control your situation in life and that's where people have to step in."

CLANTON- Louisiana residents in the state of Alabama as result of Hurricane Gustav maybe heading back home as soon as this weekend. Today (Thursday) the first portion of the bus re-entry process will be underway. The first step of the plan involves staging the buses at the fairgrounds in Birmingham. On Friday they will then be moved to the shelters where the evacuees are located in preparation for re-entry back to Louisiana. Early Saturday morning the evacuees should start loading the buses.

The plan to get Louisiana evacuees back home has been a joint effort between Alabama and Louisiana state officials, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Alabama Department of Transportation and the Alabama Department of Public Safety will help ensure the bus drivers have a safe route and an escort out of Alabama.

Continue reading "Plans are underway to return evacuees to Louisiana" »

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Residents moved boats and booked inland hotel rooms while National Guard troops prepared to deploy along the Southeastern coast as Tropical Storm Hanna plowed through the Atlantic on Thursday, with Category 4 Hurricane Ike trailing a few days behind.

Gov. Mark Sanford planned to ask residents along South Carolina's northern coast to head inland starting at noon. But the uncertain path of Hanna, which may become a hurricane by the time it hits land sometime Saturday, had emergency officials holding off ordering coastal residents to head inland. Still, high schools in South Carolina canceled football games and workers in Savannah, Ga., put storm shutters over the windows of the gold-domed City Hall.

Continue reading "US readies for Hanna; Cat. 4 Ike close behind" »

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Officials along the southern Atlantic coast held off ordering evacuations today amid uncertainty about where Tropical Storm Hanna might come ashore and how strong it will be when it gets there.

Meanwhile, Ike gained hurricane strength northeast of the Leeward Islands today as it continued on a course that could bring it toward the Gulf of Mexico sometime next week.

Farther east, Tropical Storm Josephine showed some weakening as it continued chugging west.

Continue reading "Ike becomes hurricane" »

SAINT-MARC, Haiti (AP) -- Far-reaching Tropical Storm Hanna drenched flood-plagued Haiti on Wednesday, adding to the miseries of a country that has lost 110 lives to mudslides and flooding since mid-August.

The storm that had been drifting south and east finally swung toward the north-northwest on Wednesday. It was expected to sweep across the Bahamas and then start climbing along the U.S. coastline by the weekend, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami -- with a 20 percent chance it could bring tropical storm force winds to New York City. Continue reading "Hanna dumps more rain on flood-plagued Haiti" »

MOBILE, Ala. - Mobile's Internal Revenue Service office reopened today after having been closed because of Hurricane Gustav.

Normally open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the office provides limited taxpayer assistance on a first-come, first-served basis.

Taxpayers who need assistance with federal tax issues may also call the IRS toll-free at 1-800-829-1040 or visit the IRS Web page.

Today, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other Gulf Coast state officials are identifying the transportation schedule for Louisiana evacuees' eventual return home.

"Safety is our first priority," said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer for Alabama Mike Moore. "We know residents brought here by bus are anxious to return to their homes. As soon as parish officials in Louisiana determine it is safe, return transportation will be provided by the State of Alabama."

Continue reading "State and federal officials coordinating efforts to help Gustav evacuees return home" »

The McWane Science Center is offering free admission, through Thursday, for people who are in the Birmingham area as evacuees of Hurricane Gustav.

Continue reading "McWane Science Center offers free admission to hurricane evacuees" »

The rain and thunderstorms from Hurricane Gustav were still around as coastal Alabama residents learned they have a plethora of tropical troubles to worry about in the Atlantic Ocean.

Continue reading "Other storms brewing in Gustav's wake" »

Heavy rains associated with Hurricane Gustav caused sewage to spill into Hollinger's Creek near Bay Minette on Monday, according to a news release from the Baldwin County Health Department.

Health officials said North Baldwin Utilities reported that a manhole overflowed releasing an unknown amount of sewage.

The health department urges residents to exercise caution if using Hollinger's Creek for recreational purposes and to thoroughly cook any fish or seafood caught nearby and wash hands after handling fish or seafood.

Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to be steered toward East Coast by a strengthening area of high pressure. By Friday morning, Hanna could be a hurricane just off the Florida coast near Jacksonville. Projections point to a possible landfall on the South Carolina coast late Friday or early Saturday.

Farther east, Tropical Storm Ike strengthened over the central Atlantic Ocean. Maximum sustained winds were near 65 mph and Ike could reach hurricane strength by Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Ike should be the next storm for Gulf Coast residents to watch, according to Gary Beeler of the National Weather Service in Mobile.

Continue reading "Gulf Coast take note: More trouble brewing in tropics" »

Ferry service between Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island will resume its regular schedule Wednesday morning, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation.

Service was interrupted during Hurricane Gustav and as late as midday today water still covered portions of Fort Morgan Road making the highway impassible and the eastern launch inaccessible.

Continue reading "Mobile Bay Ferry service to resume Wednesday" »