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Katrina's fury hits the Gulf shore

From Staff and Wire reports

GULFPORT - Hurricane Katrina pushed water ashore and played with power lines as the storm made landfall.

As people began waking up to the storm, calls came in to television and emergency management officials.
National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield said at midmorning the worst flooding from storm surge was on the Mississippi coast, east of the eye, with the highest storm surge recorded so far at 22 feet in Bay St. Louis.

Along U.S. 90, the major coastal route that is home to the state's glitzy casinos, sailboats were washed onto the four-lane highway, which was deserted and flooded in areas.

"This is a devastating hit - we've got boats that have gone into buildings," Gulfport Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said as he maneuvered around downed trees in the city. "What you're looking at is Camille II."

As of 7 a.m., the television station's rain gauge had measured 4 inches.

An emergency transmission tower at Gulf Coast Community Hospital in Biloxi fell over and arced, giving off a big orange glow that looked like a fire.

Power outages were 10,000 customers as of 5 a.m., but no updated numbers are available.

Gov. Haley Barbour said in a telephone call that good news for Missisisippians was that the storm weakened a bit before making landfall, but it's still a very powerful storm.
Dolphins safe at hotel

Three dolphins from the beachside Marine Life park were moved to a local hotel pool to weather Hurricane Katrina.

The dolphins - Katelin, Cayenne and Jonah - usually live in a shallow water tank. They were moved to the Best Western in Gulfport because they needed to be at a higher elevation, said one of their keepers, Dr. Moby Solangi.

Before the storm moved inland Monday, the hotel's human guests enjoyed watching the dolphins.

"I love them. This is my first time ever seeing them this close," said Earlean Winters, who has lived on the Mississippi coast 38 years.

This isn't the first time the sea animals have been hotel guests. Solangi said during any hurricane threat, they are taken to various area hotel swimming pools until danger passes.

Storm surge of more than 20 feet is reported along South Mississippi, with waves as high as 33 feet in some places.

WLOX-TV reported 86-mph winds at their studio about three blocks off the beach.

Water is covering Jones Park and is up to the bottom of the oak trees there, according to Gulfport firefighter Jack O'Brien. There also are reports of water getting into First Baptist Church, which sits on U.S. 90 in Gulfport across from Jones Park.

Gulfport firefighters also reported water in the elevator lobby of Grand Casino Gulfport south of U.S. 90.

Widespread power outages have been reported all along the Coast.

Pascagoula emergency management offiicals report wind gusts of 110 mph about 6:30 a.m.

The water from the Mississippi Sound was crashing against the sea wall, which normally is about 125 to 130 yards down the beach.

Hancock County is under mandatory evacuation and expects to see the worst damage from the storm.

Bay St. Louis Mayor Eddie Favre said emergency personnel got a call asking for help for an evacuation about 6 a.m. at Paradise Point, but they were unable to get out and perform the rescue.

The Cedar Point area, as well as Beach Boulevard, were under water, he said, with the worst of the storm yet to blow through South Mississippi.

"We know there's going to be a minimum of trees down, fencing, damage to buildings and we expect to see a lot of damage, especially along the beachfront and Cedar Point area," Favre said in a telephone interview.

Bay officials got a call about a tree limb that fell on the first block of State Street near the beach, causing a gas leak.

On the whole, however, Favre said emergency officials have received very few calls.

"It's good because people who are in a position of being in jeopardy from flooding or something like that and have to be evacuated.

Col. Joe Spraggins, emergency management director for Harrison County, said in a television interview about 4 a.m. that nearly all of U.S. 90 was impassable because of flooding and that the expected storm surge is imminent.

Most of Harrison and Hancock counties are under tornado warnings and power outages are beginning to take effect as the winds increased.

Forecasters warn that a 25-foot storm surge is possible and predict the area will experience hurricane-force winds for about 12 hours. Tropical storm winds were expected to reach the coast by Sunday eveing.

Some watching the track of Hurricane Katrina believe it will be as catastrophic, if not more so, as Hurricane Camille, the most powerful hurricane to hit land in U.S. history.

The following is an excerpt from a blog on Weather Underground.com, a Web site specializing in weather: "If the eye wall was to shrink to 15 nautical miles in diameter, we would have another Camille - except it is a larger storm than Camille."

"If Katrina maintains a Category 5 intensity all the way to the coast, a storm surge of 24-28 feet will hit the Delta region... this storm will produce the most catastrophic damage in modern times if it maintains its intensity and projected track. The repercussions will be felt nationwide for a very long time."

Harrison, Hancock and Jackson county officials ordered mandatory evacuations in some areas and urge other residents to leave town.

In Harrison County, mandatory evacuations for Zones A and B were effective at 10 a.m. Sunday. Flood zone maps are located on the Harrison County Civil Defense Web site at www.co.harrison.ms.us. They also are printed on page 55 of the 2005 Bellsouth phonebook.

Col. Joe Spraggins, director of the Harrison County Emergency Management Agency, strongly urges all Harrison County residents to get out of town, especially those in mobile homes.

"If you can get out of Harrison County, get out of Harrison County," Spraggins said during an 8 a.m. Sunday briefing.

All shelters in Harrison County opened at noon Sunday. Spraggins said law enforcement officers will go to as many homes as possible asking those who refuse to evacuate to sign paperwork attesting to that effect.

He said casinos closed at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Hancock County officials called for mandatory evacuations beginning at 6 a.m. for the entire county, including the cities of Bay St. Louis and Waveland.

In Pearl River County, Carolyn Nelson, coordinator of Emergency Management said at 9:30 a.m. that there were no mandatory evacuations and none were expected. The first shelter was to open in Picayune at 2 p.m., with others to be opened as needed.

"We're telling callers that if they have good sturdy homes and they not in a flood zone to stay," said Nelson, "Leaving is their call."

In Jackson County, mandatory evacuations were invoked at 8 a.m. Sunday for all areas south of U.S. 90 and in the Flood A zone and all low-lying areas. Darryl Goldmen, radio emergency community coordinator at county emergency management in Pascagoula, said all areas south of I-10 are "highly recommended" for evacuation.

"The people who have been calling haven't been giving me any lip," Goldmen said. "People are recognizing this is another Camille-type event and it has their attention."

In George County, Nancy Smith, administrative assistant to the director of emergency management, said shelters would open at 6 p.m. Sunday.

No mandatory evacuations had been ordered or in Stone County.