Louisiana Republican governor Bobby Jindal said Thursday that residents should prepare for a slow-moving tropical system storm over the weekend.
Mr. Jindal, who declared a state of emergency late Thursday, urged residents to prepare as the tropical storm is expected to unleash nearly 20 inches of rain and winds as high as 50 mph. Louisiana’s emergency action allows Mr. Jindal to activate the National Guard if necessary and generally makes it easier for parishes and the state to prepare.
“We’re closely monitoring the weather in the Gulf and our agencies are on alert and stand ready to assist coastal parishes if the system strengthens,” Mr. Jindal said in a statement. “We know from experience that it’s best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, and since we’re at the height of the hurricane season, now is a good time for Louisianians to make sure they have a gameplan to protect themselves and their families if a major storm approaches our coast.”
Meanwhile, oil companies such as Shell, Exxon Mobil and BP have shut down their oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and started evacuating workers. Chevron said it was evacuating non-essential workers, but announced no impacts to production.
Reports of the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico come just one week after Hurricane Irene lashed the eastern coast of the U.S. President Obama is expected to travel to New Jersey on Sunday in order to meet with government officials in an effort to assess the damage sustained.
The National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning for the coast of the northern Gulf of Mexico, from Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Sabine Pass, Texas. Although the system had not yet been officially declared a tropical storm Friday morning, the Weather Service said tropical storm-force winds were being reported at some oil rigs north and east of the storm’s center and an upgrade could come later in the day.
