Preparations
In advance of Hurricane Eloise, warnings for heavy rainfall and potential flooding were issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A hurricane warning was declared for parts of the Dominican Republic about 12 hours before landfall. A "hurricane emergency" was put into effect for the Oriente Province of Cuba, while a "state of alert" was issued for the Camagüey Province. Cubana de Aviación suspended all flights to Oriente.
On and before September 15, there was still uncertainty as to whether Eloise would impact the United States. However, officials in Florida began taking precautionary measures. When the storm entered the Gulf of Mexico, forecasters suggested that the storm would continue northward and strike the area near Mobile Bay. Contrary to predictions, by late on September 22, the storm had turned northeast, and some residents of Florida were still unaware of the storm's threat despite the issuance of hurricane warnings 24 hours in advance. As a result, evacuations were delayed to an extent. During the morning hours of September 23, civil preparedness workers drove through coastal towns with loudspeakers advising people to seek shelter. Due of the intensity of the approaching hurricane, evacuations along the coast were ultimately thorough, despite the initial delay. It was reported that 99% of Pensacola residents along the beach had left their homes, and overall, 100,000 people evacuated from areas in Louisiana through Florida.
A statement issued by the National Weather Service advised people in nine Florida counties to complete hurricane preparations, which included securing loose objects and moving watercraft to safety. Homes along the coast were boarded up by their owners, while offshore, workers were removed from oil platforms. A spokesman for Royal Dutch Shell reported that 800 workers were to be evacuated. In New Orleans, emergency equipment was readied and inspected. The New Orleans Levee Board went into a second-stage alert on September 21, and cleared debris from floodwall openings.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Eloise
Famous quotes containing the word preparations:
“Whatever may be the reason, whether it was that Hitler thought he might get away with what he had got without fighting for it, or whether it was that after all the preparations were not sufficiently complete—however, one thing is certain: he missed the bus.”
—Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940)
“The most evident difference between man and animals is this: the beast, in as much as it is largely motivated by the senses and with little perception of the past or future, lives only for the present. But man, because he is endowed with reason by which he is able to perceive relationships, sees the causes of things, understands the reciprocal nature of cause and effect, makes analogies, easily surveys the whole course of his life, and makes the necessary preparations for its conduct.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)
“At the ramparts on the cliff near the old Parliament House I counted twenty-four thirty-two-pounders in a row, pointed over the harbor, with their balls piled pyramid-wise between them,—there are said to be in all about one hundred and eighty guns mounted at Quebec,—all which were faithfully kept dusted by officials, in accordance with the motto, “In time of peace prepare for war”; but I saw no preparations for peace: she was plainly an uninvited guest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)