Thursday 02 / May / 2024
Forecasts on Monday showed that Hurricane Sally could approach major hurricane strength as it nears the US Gulf Coast.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said that Sally has recently strengthened and developed an inner core and the warm waters of the Gulf favor additional strengthening in the next couple of hours.
As of now, the Category 2 hurricane is packing 100-mph (155-kph) winds but forecasters said that sustained winds of approximately 110 mph (177 kph) are expected right before landfall on Tuesday .
Residents from the low-lying areas of Louisiana and Mississippi have been ordered to evacuate ahead of the hurricane, while President Donald Trump has issued an emergency disaster declaration in the two states.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey also declared an emergency, closing beaches and recommending evacuations from low-lying areas.
"We are going to bear the brunt of this storm," Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves told residents on Monday, cautioning that rainfall forecasts along the coast could exceed 20 inches (50.8 cm).
Energy companies, ports and refineries hurried to shut down ahead of Sally, the second storm to threaten the region in less than a month.
In southwestern Louisiana, residents are still clearing the debris from Hurricane Laura and thousands of homes are without power. Sally's path continues to be east of the area.
Governor John Bel Edwards said on Monday that additional resources have been sent by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, before Sally hits, to avoid taking assistance away from southwestern Louisiana.
Edwards advised over 12,000 Laura evacuees, who are currently in hotels in New Orleans, to "stay put" in their shelters.
