Area officials expect few effects from Bill

Published 12:00 am Monday, June 30, 2003

Tropical Storm Bill hovers above Louisiana, but Concordia Parish and Adams County officials expect little action in the area.

The tropical storm sat above Terrebonne Bay, about 30 miles east of Morgan City at 4 p.m. Monday, moving northeast at 10 miles per hour. A tropical storm warning remained in effect from Intracoastal City, La., to Pascagoula.

&uot;We are still on standby until it moves back to the west,&uot; said Morris White, director of emergency preparedness for Concordia Parish.

Email newsletter signup

But White would be ready for evacuees if needed because Louisiana has a manual for emergencies, so he would just have to follow the procedures.

Concordia would house evacuees from the New Orleans area if needed. The last time the parish housed evacuees was 18 months ago.

However, the storm only has produced flood and tornado threats for southeastern Louisiana and Mississippi. Four to seven inches of rain are expected for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the panhandle of Florida and tornadoes are possible, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In Adams County, Civil Defense Director George Souderes said there only has been monitoring of the storm because the area should only experience rain and wind.

Souderes said the National Weather Service tries to give authorities two and a half to three days warning of where a hurricane will hit land so they can prepare.

&uot;We’ve been watching this storm buildup for about three days now,&uot; Souderes said.

Even if conditions worsened for the Mississippi coast, those people normally evacuate north by way of interstates 55 and 59, not to Natchez, Souderes said.

But &uot;if they show up, we’re gonna take care of them,&uot; Souderes said.

If places are evacuated, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness decide where evacuees will relocate. MEMA contacts Souderes and then he contacts the Red Cross, who manage the shelters.

Souderes and White said officials will stay alert during this hurricane season. Although neither is too worried, they do feel prepared for the situation.