Weather-tested Gulf Coast residents stay put as weakening tropical storm creeps toward land

Gulf Coast residents stay put ahead of Ida

GULF SHORES, Ala. — Weather-hardened Gulf Coast residents refused to retreat from a rare late-season tropical storm that weakened as it crept toward shore Tuesday, bringing heavy rain, stiff winds and some flooding.

Ida’s winds had dissipated to about 50 mph (85 kph), and at 4 a.m., the center was about 60 miles (95 km) south-southwest of Mobile. It was moving north at about 9 mph (15 kph) and expected to make land later in the morning.

The center of the storm was losing its shape, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact point of landfall, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Tropical storm warnings were out across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, where governors declared states of emergency.

Still, few people evacuated or sought refuge along Alabama’s coast, where the former hurricane that once had potent winds over 100 mph was expected to come ashore. Officials said fewer than 70 people were in shelters that opened in Mobile and Baldwin counties, with a population of 565,000.

Andrew Abbott stood under a sheltered area at Gulf Shores’ public beach as rain blew sideways under street lights and frothy sea water washed up against the seawall. He was glad he lives a few miles inland from the beach, away from the threat of flooding and wind damage.

“Where we are we’ll be fine, and this shouldn’t be a big deal here,” said Abbott, who was with his two young children and ex-wife.

Ida started moving across the Gulf as the third hurricane of this year’s quiet Atlantic tropical season, which ends Dec. 1.

Rain and some flooding seemed to be the biggest threats. Up to 8 inches could fall in some areas, with most of the coast getting between 3 and 6 inches.

Earlier in the week, a low-pressure system that the hurricane may have played a role in attracting had triggered flooding and landslides in El Salvador that killed at least 130 people. Near New Orleans, a 70-year-old man was feared drowned when trying to help two fishermen whose boat had broken down in the Mississippi River on Monday, said Maj. John Marie, a Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s spokesman.

But in Pascagoula, Miss., which still bears scars from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the storm didn’t interrupt dinner for Daniel Sullivan, 22, and his fiancee, Markita Jones, 21, who were the only customers waiting to be served at a drive-in restaurant.

“It’s just a little bit of rain and wind,” Sullivan said. “I actually thought the streets would be flooded by now.”

Five hours after Jackson County’s lone shelter in Pascagoula opened, only one person had checked in.

Doris Moorman, who was managing the Red Cross shelter, said she staffed a similar place last year during Hurricane Gustav that housed more than 500 people. She’s concerned residents weren’t taking the threat seriously, perhaps letting their Gustav experience lull them into a false sense of security.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be fine this time,” she said.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday warned people to remain vigilant, saying Tropical Storm Fay was blamed for more than a dozen deaths in his state, Haiti and the Dominican Republic last year. No mandatory evacuations were ordered, but authorities in coastal areas encouraged people near the water or in mobile homes to seek shelter. Many schools closed, and several cruise ships were delayed as the U.S. Coast Guard closed Gulf Coast ports.

The streets were quiet Monday night in downtown Mobile, about 40 miles northwest of Gulf Shores, with many stores and restaurants closing early. Stiff winds and sheets of rain made driving hazardous, and many residents opted to stay off the roads, although few said they were leaving town.

Forecasters predicted Ida’s storm surge could raise water levels 3 to 5 feet above normal. In Pensacola, Fla., the Gulf was rough and building and winds were howling. In north Georgia, which saw historic flooding in September, forecasters said up to 4 more inches could soak the already-saturated ground.

The approaching storm wasn’t enough to drive Bobbie Buerger, owner of Ship & Shore Supplies general store, off Dauphin Island in the Gulf south of Mobile.

“I’m going to try my best to hang through it. It’s not been bad yet,” she said.

Not everyone was complacent. In Navarre Beach, a few miles east of Pensacola, Roger Dick, 64, boarded up his windows and readied his generator at his home a block from the beach, as he and his wife prepared for their first storm as Florida residents.

“Even though we’re rookies, we know there’s cause for concern and we’ve taken precautions, obviously,” he said.

In Louisiana and Mississippi, officials were concerned about hundreds of people still living in federally issued trailers and mobile homes after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

Rick McClendon, owner of the Bayou Shirt Co., in Bayou La Batre, Ala., said he and others refused to scramble.

“We’re not panicking. After you go through Katrina, it’s got to be a big storm to panic. And this isn’t,” he said.

Others marveled that they were dealing with such a storm at all so late in the season.

“It’s just so bizarre … It’s cold. We’re not supposed to have to handle this so close to Thanksgiving,” said Amy Vice, a property manager on Dauphin Island.

“When they were talking about the system last week I thought, ‘No way.’ Now, it’s ‘way.’ I thought hurricane season was over. I won’t ever say that again.”

Associated Press writers Melissa Nelson and Bill Kaczor in Pensacola, Suzette Laboy in Miami, Becky Bohrer in New Orleans, Dorie Turner in Atlanta, Jay Reeves in Robertsdale, Ala., Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., Greg Bluestein in Dauphin Island, Ala., and Mike Kunzelman in Biloxi, Miss. contributed to this report.