Hanna could hit Georgia on Friday

Georgia emergency responders did not rush to help the Gulf Coast on Monday because there could be a worse threat coming from the Atlantic: Hurricane Hanna. The storm is on a track to slam Georgia’s coast by Friday.

“We’re holding back sending anybody at this point, based on our threat on the home front,” said Kandice Eldon, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

When Hurricane Katrina struck three years ago, 2,000 Georgia National Guardsmen went to the Gulf Coast.

“We don’t want to start committing resources that we may need down the road,” said Jim Driscoll, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and spokesman for the Georgia guard.

GEMA planned to kick into full activation mode starting at 7 a.m. today in an operations center in southeast Atlanta. That means around-the-clock staffing as state officials make decisions about whether and when to evacuate the Georgia coast, execute traffic control plans and coordinate other responses that could include readying shelters and food and water for evacuees.

According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Hanna was a Category 1 hurricane as of 5 p.m. Monday.

Hanna wasn’t the only storm lurking in the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical Storm Ike formed Monday and was on track to reach the Bahamas by Saturday.

For more information on what to include in the kit, go to www.fema.gov/areyouready/assemble_disaster_supplies_kit.shtm.

 Staff
Map of the southeastern United States pinpoints Hurricane Hanna's projected path from 5 p.m. Monday through 2 p.m. Saturday.
Source: NOAA