GULFPORT - As Hurricane Ivan crept closer to the Gulf Coast, Mississippi officials were readying shelters and shutting down schools while residents prepared to flee the storm.
No evacuation order had been issued by early today, despite a hurricane watch for the coast, said Richard Faul, an operation technician with the Harrison County Civil Defense.
Forecasters said Ivan's bands of winds and rain may begin coming ashore as early as Wednesday. No one could predict which location would take the storm's hardest hit.
"We're going to have at least tropical storm winds," Faul said today. "That's what we're preparing for. We're actually preparing for the worst and hoping for the best."
Thousands of residents along the 75-mile Mississippi coastline stocked up on water, canned goods, flashlights and gasoline. Many boarded up their homes before heading to the state's north or west to Louisiana.
Gov. Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency Monday and signed an executive order placing the Mississippi National Guard on active duty.
"Our first priority is the safety and security of the people of the state of Mississippi," Barbour said. "Our state resources are in place to make sure that the needs of our citizens are met."
Lt. Col. Tim Powell, spokesman for the Mississippi Army National Guard, told The Associated Press Tuesday that Guard officials are in the process of identifying units that will be sent the Mississippi Coast in preparation for Hurricane Ivan.
"We're in the process of identifying the units that will be sent," Powell said. "We're in the notification process. We're going to be moving elements tomorrow."
In Harrison County, civil defense director, Linda Rouse, said details about a possible evacuation would come Tuesday. Rouse said officials were recommending residents voluntarily flee the Category 5 storm.
"You're safer in a shelter than you are at home. Out of the area is better," Rouse said.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency was sending staff members to Hattiesburg, about 90 miles south of Jackson, and to Gulfport to help oversee preparations.
Ivan moved into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, nearing parts of Florida's west coast still recovering from Hurricane Charley and threatening to make landfall in the Florida panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana. Mexico's northeastern Yucatan peninsula also was on alert.
Barbour, speaking at a news conference in Jackson, said he believes the Mississippi Gulf Coast is well prepared.
"I believe what happened in Florida this year will make people realize this is serious," he said.
MEMA director Robert Latham said if people evacuate from the state's three coastal counties, they need to drive as far north in the state as possible.
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