Hurricane Ivan batters Alabama

by Michael Verdon/IBI Magazine on 17 Sep 2004 Hurricane Ivan made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama, early this morning, packing winds up to 130 mph. The Category 3 hurricane landed just east of Mobile Bay, Alabama, and just west of Pensacola on the Florida Panhandle.

According to news reports, Ivan has been lashing the area with torrential rain and destructive winds. It has also spawned several tornadoes, which are blamed for the deaths of 12 people. Power and phone lines have been cut to hundreds of thousands of people along the Gulf Coast, and over two million have been evacuated over the last three days.

Waves as high as 50 feet were measured in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says that ‘horrible’ weather conditions will continue for much of the morning for that region. Up to 15 inches of rain is expected, creating the possibility of coastal and inland flooding.

Due to downed phone lines, IBI was unable to get through to marine industry sources in that region. But the National Hurricane Center said that coastal areas east of the eye of the hurricane are experiencing storm surges of 10 to 16 feet.

Waves up to 25 feet high have reportedly destroyed homes along the Florida coast. At Gulf Shores, according to the Associated Press, storm waters surged over the main seawall, flooding roads and yards. Pensacola, Florida, also reported flooding along its main streets.

Ivan is expected to move inland up through the Carolinas and into Tennessee, causing massive flooding there. Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, warned that the ‘misery’ would spread as Ivan moves across the Southeast in the hours and days ahead. ‘I hate to think about what's going to happen inland,’ he told the AP.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Jeanne battered Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands yesterday and is approaching hurricane status. Jeanne will intensify into a hurricane this morning as it rides along the north shores of the Dominican Republic. It will probably continue to strengthen as it swirls through the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bahamas late this week and weekend. It could make landfall in the US as early as this weekend.

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