Lights return; lines form for gas, ice and food

By Mary Hood (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Thursday, September 4, 2008

NATCHEZ — As each hour passes and Gustav gets further and further away, life in Natchez becomes more and more normal again.

Adams County Emergency Director Stan Owens said the area can still expect rain in the coming days as Hurricane Gustav is stalled inland.

But there’s no threat of more damage for now, and Owens said MEMA disaster teams will begin filing into town to begin assessments soon.

Adams County, and all 82 counties in Mississippi, are on the way to being declared disaster areas.

Friday, MEMA essentially pre-declared all the counties as disaster zones. This is one step in the process of officially being named as such, but first the counties must be declared presidential disaster areas.

“I feel pretty comfortable that will happen,” Owens said.

This declaration can entitle Adams County to reimbursements.

“It will open us up to federal assistance and possible reimbursement for all expenses to prepare for and recover from the disaster,” he said.

Disbursement of ice and water began Wednesday afternoon at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center.

While work continues to get Adams County back to normal, Owens is watching other tropical activity. Namely, Tropical Storm Ike.

“We’re keeping one eye on Ike, I’ve looked at it and it’s projected to be getting close to landfall on Cuba on Wednesday sometime,” he said.

When he had last checked Wednesday early afternoon, Owens said Ike had winds up to 110 miles per hour was upgraded to hurricane status.

Owens — who began as emergency management director earlier this year — said he’s prepared for whatever will come next.

“This rookie sure has learned a lot of lessons, and he has learned his lessons well,” he said.

Adams County saw winds up to 60 miles per hour or possibly higher. It received 2.8 inches of rain Tuesday alone.

Owens said he doesn’t have an accurate account how much rain has fallen over the last few days as the Natchez location of the National Weather Service is currently not operational.

Rain meters in Vidalia show just over 10 inches Monday through Wednesday.

No tornadoes came through the area but two flash flood warnings were issued Tuesday.

Adams County Board of Supervisors Henry Watts said every county road is open with at least one passable land.

During the course of the past two days, county road crews and the Adams County Sheriff’s Office received up to 300 calls reporting downed trees, limbs and power lines. Watts said everything was handled efficiently.

“We were very prepared,” he said.