The Alabama Department of Tourism was to meet Sunday at The Lodge at Gulf State Park for its annual meeting with some 300 expected to attend.
But Hurricane Ida, which is expected to intensify into a powerful Category 4 as it moves toward the south-central coast of Louisiana, on Friday canceled the “Governor’s Conference on Tourism,” in which Chief of Staff Jon Bonner was scheduled to speak.
“We thought it was unwise to encourage people to come to the beach when the hurricane was approaching the Gulf of Mexico,” said Lee Sentell, the director of tourism. He said that his agency is sending out notices so people can cancel their trip.
The conference’s cancellation comes as some worries have surfaced along Coastal Alabama about rental units being largely occupied throughout the weekend. The worry, according to a Gulf Shores spokesman, is if the storm’s trajectory shifts eastward, it will be difficult to evacuate Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in a timely manner.
Rental units are expected to be 68% occupied on Saturday, and 64% on Sunday despite the deteriorating conditions within the Gulf. Double-red flags, which close the waters to swimmers, were flying by mid-day on Friday.
The Baldwin County Commission declared a “local state of emergency” and are awaiting a follow up declaration from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office sometime this weekend.
“I hope some of the people who are trying to make up their minds, do not come down here,” said Commissioner Billie Jo Underwood. She said she was hopeful the county’s declaration will assist visitors in making that decision.
Grant Brown, spokesman with the city of Gulf Shores, said there is no reason for an evacuation because the storm’s current path is toward the New Orleans area. But he said if there is a shift overnight toward the east, it could be concerning for Alabama’s Pleasure Island.
“This is a scary storm for us,” said Brown, noting the weekend occupancies, which drop down to mid-30s by Monday. “If overnight tonight, that storm’s (path) shifts and comes this way, we’re losing time because it’s moving fast. It could e a real problem with 68% occupancy to get our tourists and residents out with only two bridges and limited roadways. That’s our biggest concern with the lack of accessibility and limited time.”
Flooded roads likely
Flooding from heavy rains is also a concern. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach struggled, within the past year, with flooding in neighborhoods or within parking lots at the beachside condos.
“In the West Beach (Boulevard) area, the parking lots are in a bowl and cars flood,” said Brown.
Alabama’s coastal areas are not in the cone of uncertainty as of Friday afternoon but are under a tropical storm and storm surge watch and could experience dangerous conditions from Ida.
The National Weather Service in Mobile said Ida is likely to bring rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches with isolated higher amounts along the central Gulf Coast Sunday into Monday. Flash flooding is expected, and some roadways, including the Spanish Fort Causeway, are expected to be inundated with rising waters.
The storm could be a 120 mph monster that slams into the Louisiana coast 16 years to the day that Hurricane Katrina caused massive devastation to the Louisiana coastline and swamped the city of New Orleans. Wind gusts in Mobile and Baldwin counties could be up to 50 mph.
“If this thing doesn’t change, we’ll see gusty winds,” said Mike Evans, deputy director with the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency. “But the majority of it will be rain and water piling up. The most simplest thing to say is for people to just stay home and inside (during the hurricane) and do not drive the roads and get to a road that is flooded.”
He suggested people living in flood prone areas, like Bayou Sara in Saraland, and in low-lying areas of the county in other areas of the county, to consider calling a friend and getting to higher ground.
The only evacuation that has been called was from the city of Dauphin Island. The city’s evacuation order is for its West End Beach area, which is often inundated with storm surge following a hurricane.
‘COVIDA’
But a hurricane isn’t the only concern.
The storm’s arrival comes as the Coastal Alabama continues battling with COVID-19, and as regional hospitals are filled with sickened patients.
In Mobile County, the Health Department is calling the dueling worries “COVIDA” - a mashup of COVID and Ida.
“It’s a serious situation,” said Dr. Rendi Murphree, director of disease surveillance with the Mobile County Public Health Department.
The Health Department is urging residents not to gather inside an emergency shelter, if one is opened over the weekend. Shelters should be a “last resort,” according to Erin Coker, emergency preparedness administrator with the Health Department.
“We’re trying to encourage people not to come to shelters unless you absolutely have to,” said Coker.
Said Murphree, “Congregate settings is dangerous right now. Do not depend on a shelter. If we do have an open shelter, it will be very important that we try to keep it COVID free and also take care of the people who show up.”
The department provided some advice on items needed for a kit for people if they plan to evacuate or shelter at home:
- Get enough water in the house, or about a gallon a day per person
- Non-perishable foods
- Extra medication
- A First-Aid kit
- Flashlights and radio weathers with batteries
- Change of clothes
- Important documents
- Sanitary items
In addition, Murphree said people need to take face masks and hand sanitizer if they plan to travel. Also, she said that family units should stay together and social distancing should continue if people are waiting in line for gasoline or food and water.
Hospitals
The combination of Ida and the COVID outbreak comes as the hospitalizations have declined slightly in recent days. According to the Mobile County Health Department, 429 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday, which is on par with other days this week.
Mobile and Baldwin counties have been battling with the surge of the delta variant of the virus for the past month, exhausting hospital workers and prompting the state to establish two temporary morgues in both counties. It’s the first time morgues have been moved into any county during the pandemic.
Infirmary Health in Mobile had 492 patients on Friday, up from 471 on Monday. Of those, 186 are sickened with COVID-19, which is on par with Monday’s count. Of those, 34 are on a ventilator, which is only one more than Monday.
“Infirmary Health hospitals each have emergency operations plans in place for hurricanes and other emergency situations,” said Hannah Peterson, spokeswoman with Infirmary Health. “Our teams successfully navigated Hurricane Sally and Zeta during the COVID pandemic last year and are prepared to care for our patients safely and effectively should a hurricane impact our area again. In addition to the plans, our staff are experienced with hurricanes, and generator power is available in the event of power interruptions.”
At Ascension Providence, 101 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 117 a week ago. Of those patients, 90% are unvaccinated.
“Ascension Providence has a detailed hurricane plan that we have activated many times, as Mobile is frequently threatened by hurricanes and storms,” said Sydney Olinger, spokeswoman with Ascension Providence. “We have emergency generators and precautions we take in advance of hurricanes, such as stocking up on fuel, water, food, medications and other supplies. We arrange to have staff come in early for their shifts, so they are safely in place and are not traveling when high winds arrive.”
Evans, with Mobile County EMA, said the hospitals are prepared to withstand the storm.
“They are full,” he said. “They have generators and fuel and areas of the hospitals where it gets too dicey, they can move patients to more hardened areas. The big thing is because of COVID right now, they are more folks in there right now than they would have liked.”
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