Seven evacuation shelters will open at noon today in Warren and Issaquena counties, and Vicksburg area Red Cross Emergency Services Director Janice Sawyer said she expects them to fill quickly with Hurricane Gustav evacuees from coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.

“We’ve been getting calls since Thursday from people who have sheltered with us before,” said Sawyer. “It looks like we’ll be working on a marathon and not a sprint.”

Due to the increasing intensity of Gustav, which was temporarily declared a Category 5 storm Saturday afternoon before being re-classified as a Category 4 storm, Sawyer said Vicksburg and Warren County residents should be preparing for severe weather as well as increased congestion.

“We are certainly going to take some flooding and high winds from the hurricane, and possibly tornadoes,” said Sawyer. “Local residents need to be prepared to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours after the storm.”

Facilities to open as shelters today are:

• Bovina Baptist Church, U.S. 80, 601-636-0682, capacity 75.

• Calvary Baptist Church, 2878 Mississippi 27, 601-636-7501, 75.

• Church of Christ, 3333 N. Frontage Road, 601-636-4801, 50.

• Eagle Lake Baptist Church, 15481 Miss. 465, 601-279-4301, 50.

• First Baptist Church, 1607 Cherry St., 601-636-2493, 175.

• Hawkins United Methodist Church, 3736 Halls Ferry Road, 601-636-2242, 150.

• Mayersville Multipurpose Center, 132 Court, 662-873-6439, 50.

Sawyer said each shelter will have up to 25 volunteers to assist evacuees, and she’s requested the Red Cross send 12 additional peopleto assist shelter managers and six supervisors. Statewide, she said, 104 Red Cross shelters are preparing to take about 27,000 evacuees, with some opening Saturday.  

“This is the biggest deployment of volunteers since (Hurricane) Katrina, and the local response has been fantastic,” said Sawyer. “These people are giving up their Labor Day weekend to volunteer. They’re out shopping for supplies for the shelters instead of shopping for things to put on the grill.”

The Vicksburg chapter of the Salvation Army is planning to provide information to evacuees at checkpoints to be determined this weekend, said Capt. Patrick Lyons. Plans to feed evacuees via mobile kitchens are also in the works.

The seven shelters opening today in Warren and Issaquena counties can take on about 625 evacuees. The Vicksburg Auditorium has been identified as a “shelter of last resort” capable of taking in 150 additional people, and Sawyer said she expects it will be necessary to open its doors.

“Based on the high number of calls we’ve already had, yes, I think we will have to open it, and we’re prepared to do so,” she said.

All shelters are capable of taking in small pets, said Sawyer, while the Red Cross will be working with the Silver Creek Equestrian Club to help find shelter for larger animals and horses. Evacuees’ animals will also be taken in at the Vicksburg-Warren Humane Society as capacity allows, said President Georgia Lynn.

The first shelter for those with special medical needs opened Saturday at Hinds Community College in Raymond, with more information available by calling 1-866-458-4948.

Vicksburg Mayor and Board of Aldermen proclaimed a local emergency Friday, and Mayor Laurence Leyens said all necessary preparations had been made by city department heads.

Sheriff Martin Pace said all deputies’ requests for vacation days were suspended, backup fuel supplies were readied and generators are in place at such vital areas as the wastewater treatment facility and Warren County Jail.

“Right now we’re ready, and kind of at the wait-and-see point,” said Pace. “We’re noticing a good bit of traffic, especially on Highway 27 and Interstate 20, and we expect it to increase as the contra flow efforts begin.”

Contra flow, or lane reversal, involves restricting all lanes of Interstate 55 and Interstate 59 to northbound travel only, which began at 4 a.m. today at the Mississippi-Louisiana border. Contra flow operations will begin in Louisiana and extend into Mississippi for 21 miles on Interstate 59 and 31 miles on Interstate 55. Northbound-only traffic on Interstate 59 will end just south of Poplarville. Contra flow traffic on Interstate 55 will end just south of Brookhaven at Highway 84.

Potentially complicating matters, the westbound outside lane of Interstate 20 at the Mississippi River Bridge is scheduled to close on Wednesday and Thursday so crews with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development can perform routine bridge inspection.

Meanwhile, the Vicksburg District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activated its emergency operations center Saturday and put debris and other response teams on alert. The Vicksburg District is the Corps group responsible for FEMA director missions for the Mississippi Gulf Coast during a hurricane response. Typical missions include debris removal, temporary roofing and providing temporary power.

Entergy personnel were to be mobilized by late today from north Mississippi, Arkansas and Georgia to work on power lines if electric service is cut, said spokesman Don Arnold. Vicksburg Video, which provides cable and Internet service to about 8,500 in Vicksburg, has been outfitted with backup generators, said General Manager Beau Balch.

 

Numbers to keepLocalEmergency management hotline — 601-801-3500Shelter information hotline — 601-801-3443Hearing impaired text message hotline — 601-415-9489To report clogged storm drains — 601-636-3411StateDepartment of Transportation traffic information hotline —1-866-521-6368Department of Employment Security hotline — 1-888-844-3577LouisianaLouisiana State Police hotline, including road closure and contra-flow updates — 1-800-469-4828EntergyTo report power outages — 1-800-368-3749Fax line for special needs medical patient in advance of an outage — 1-866-626-5491