Effects of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi - Mississippi Evacuation

Mississippi Evacuation

By 4:30 a.m. CDT, on August 29, 2005, just hours before Hurricane Katrina landfall, many shelters in Mississippi were full to capacity, including many Red Cross shelters, the Jackson Coliseum (which allowed pets), and five special-needs shelters. The shelters had filled within 24 hours of opening.

Days earlier, on August 25, when Hurricane Katrina crossed the southern tip of Florida, government offices in Mississippi had already discussed emergency evacuation plans for days. On August 26, the Mississippi National Guard was activated, raising the level of concern, and on August 27, the state government activated its Emergency Operations Center, and local governments began issuing evacuation orders: the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) advised not opening shelters in coastal counties. However, on August 28, the Red Cross also opened shelters in coastal counties, and by 7:00 p.m., 11 counties and eleven cities issued evacuation orders, a number which increased to 41 counties and 61 cities before the following morning, when Katrina came ashore. Moreover, 57 emergency shelters were established on coastal communities, with 31 additional shelters available to open if needed....

Since the evacuation was not total, many people survived the 30-foot (9 m) storm tide by climbing into the second-floor attic, or knocking out walls and ceiling boards to climb onto the roof or nearby trees. Tree trunks remained standing, even near the beaches, where many houses were leveled. Other people had swum to taller buildings or trees. Over 100 people were rescued from roof tops and trees in Mississippi.

Although the population of the three (3) coastal counties had been nearly 400,000, and the storm tide was 20–30 feet (9 m) with coastal winds 75-120 mph (120–192 km/h), fewer than 350 people died in Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina.