New Orleans gears up for Sally 1:33
(CNN) -
Hurricane Sally is heading off the southeast coast of Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane. This comes less than three weeks after Hurricane Laura caused widespread damage on the other side of the state.
A National Hurricane Center plane flying through Sally discovered that the storm had quickly turned into a hurricane.
Maximum sustained winds are around 136km / h, with stronger gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Further strengthening is possible today and tomorrow as the storm continues to creep toward the Gulf Coast.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency and New Orleans authorities ordered the evacuation of residents living outside the levee protection system.
"The bottom line remains that Hurricane Sally is expected to be a dangerous slow-moving hurricane off the coast of southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for the next 2-3 days," the National Hurricane Center warned.
Storm Sally would make landfall as a hurricane near New Orleans
Tropical Storm Sally threatens southern US 1:22
As the storm approaches, coastal parts of the Gulf states are bracing for heavy rains and life-threatening storm surges.
It is estimated that this Monday the center of Sally will pass east of New Orleans.
That means the Gulfport and Biloxi areas of Mississippi could suffer the brunt of its winds, rains and storm surge.
With sustained winds of 104 kilometers per hour, Sally was about 265 kilometers southeast of Biloxi on Monday morning.
People prepare for Hurricane Sally
Hardware and grocery items are available.
But at least one store manager said he doesn't see people stocking up on plywood and other emergency supplies, according to CNN affiliate WLOX.
"I think a lot of people were still in supply when Marco and Laura arrived because it was close to failure, but a lot of people prepared for that," said Bill Collins, who runs a hardware store in Gulfport.
Resident Al Ward took propane tanks in case he needed to cook outside after the storm passed, he explained.
"I'm doing what anyone else with common sense would do," Ward told the station.
“I am preparing for the worst and I hope it is as it was at the beginning of this year.
We have dodged a bullet.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a preliminary state of emergency on Sunday.
The storm "will probably persist in most parts of the state for basically 48 hours," he said.
Tropical Storm Sally forms in the Gulf of Mexico
Hurricane Laura's devastation remains in Louisiana 3:32
Louisiana Still Recovering from Hurricane Laura
Officials "have every reason to believe that this storm poses a very significant threat to the people of southeast Louisiana," Edwards said.
The governor added that he has spoken with President Donald Trump and is filing a prior federal statement before the hurricane makes landfall.
Hurricane Sally comes just weeks after Hurricane Laura made landfall as Category 4, causing widespread flooding and damage in southwestern Louisiana and killing six people there.
It was as strong as a storm over 150 years ago, the strongest to ever hit the state.
Laura also destroyed power grids and repairs are expected to take weeks, if not months, to complete, authorities said.
Nearly 80,000 people remain without power in southwest Louisiana after Laura.
At the peak, more than 800,000 customers were without power.
Customers who are still in the dark raise "very complicated cases" because they are closer to the coast, where the damage to infrastructure was most severe, said Louisiana Emergency Management Director Mike Steel.
FEMA has approved assistance for 21 parishes affected by Laura, according to a statement released Sunday by the governor's office.
New Orleans prepares for Sally's arrival
Mandatory evacuations ordered across Louisiana
With Hurricane Sally under way, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for part or all of several parishes, including Orleans.
Some evacuations, including those from New Orleans for those living outside the levee protection system, were scheduled to go into effect at 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. Miami time) Sunday.
Most of the residents live within the protection system.
The Venetian Isles, Lake Catherine and the Irish Bayou, which are not protected by substantial levees, could see storm surges of up to 3.3 meters during Sally, NOLA Ready, the city's emergency preparedness network, detailed in a tweet.
The City has issued a mandatory evacuation order for areas outside of levee protection, including Venetian Isles, Lake Catherine, and Irish Bayou.
In areas outside the levee system, we may see storm surge between 7-11 feet.
This evacuation order goes into effect at 6pm.
#Sally pic.twitter.com/2ta4j0hn6s
- NOLA Ready (@nolaready) September 13, 2020
The coastline between the mouth of the Mississippi River and Ocean Springs, Mississippi, east of Biloxi, could see the same increase, while most coastal areas are expected to experience between 30 centimeters and 2.5 meters of storm surge, said the National Hurricane Center.
New Orleans' 99 drain pumps, critical to preventing street flooding, are fully operational, according to the city's Water and Sewer Board.
The board activated its emergency operations center early Monday.
Those who did not evacuate before Hurricane Laura should put their name on a plastic bag in a pocket, Louisiana officials say
Emergency supplies
The city is preparing for Sally by distributing sandbags, putting the pumps into full operation and signing an emergency declaration, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Sunday.
"You should gather your emergency supplies for three days," warned Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
A mandatory evacuation has been ordered at St. Charles Parish, which is home to more than 52,000 residents and is located on the banks of the Mississippi River.
This is a storm that everyone should take seriously.
We are likely to see tropical storm-force winds and hurricane-force winds for longer than Hurricane Katrina, a storm surge of 1.2 to 2 meters and the possibility of 50 centimeters of rain. '
St. Charles Parish President Matthew Jewell said Sunday: "We want residents to heed our warnings and prepare to leave now."
Plaquemines parish, where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico, announced Sunday that a mandatory evacuation would be ordered for "the entire East Bank ... and the West Bank from the Phillips 66 Alliance Refinery to Venice."
Plaquemines Parish also announced a voluntary evacuation "from the Oakville community to Phillips 66 Alliance Refinery."
Grand Isle, in Jefferson Parish, is also under mandatory evacuation, as is the Port Fourchon community in Lafourche Parish.
At least one nursing home has already begun evacuating residents, Edwards said.
Three prisons have also evacuated 1,200 inmates, he said.
Mississippi and Alabama are assessing the risk
Mississippi officials are working to make decisions about possible mandatory evacuations depending on changes in the weather, Reeves said Sunday.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey warned residents to stay vigilant.
"While it is not currently expected to be a direct impact on our coastal areas, we know well that we should not take the threat lightly," Ivey said Sunday.
"We offer our prayers and support to our friends in Louisiana as they are expected to once again find themselves on the path of severe weather."
CNN's Kay Jones, Judson Jones, Brandon Miller and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.
Hurricane Sally Hurricane season
