Preparations
Tropical storm watches were issued in parts of the Lesser Antilles on September 22. These were upgraded to warnings the next afternoon, and all advisories were dropped late on September 23 once the storm had passed. Over the next week, the islands of Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cuba, the Caymans, and the Yucatán Peninsula were all under advisories of some kind at different times. Hurricane and tropical storm watches were issued for the Gulf Coast on October 1, and were upgraded to warnings the next morning. They were discontinued after the storm moved past the following day.
Because the cyclone affected the islands as a weak tropical storm, preparations were minimal. Two hundred people evacuated their homes in advance of the storm on the islands of St. Vincent and Grenadine. In Jamaica, all schools and universities were closed in advance of the storm, and 17 public shelters were opened on the island.
Preparations were extensive in Cuba. Military officials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba prepared for the possibility of evacuating their Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners. A total of 130,000 Cuban citizens, mainly in western portions of the island, evacuated their homes prior to the storm.
Significant action was taken along the Gulf Coast as the threat the storm posed, predicted to come ashore at Category Four strength, became more urgent. Over a half million people evacuated their homes in Texas and Louisiana, including everyone in Iberia Parish. A total of 200,000 people evacuated in Louisiana. At least 2,000 volunteers staffed 115 Red Cross shelters in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. More than 20,000 people stayed in those shelters. The Red Cross also sent over 160,000 meals to the area. A total of 3,000 prison inmates in Texas were evacuated to safer inland locations. The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis was delayed for five days when the Kennedy Space Center was threatened by the storm, the first time a launch in Florida had been delayed because of weather in Houston. Stores across the warning area were very busy in advance of the storm. In New Iberia, Louisiana, hardware stores ran out of stock, and businesses in Lafayette, Louisiana reported similar shortages.
Collegiate activities were also affected by the storm. Southern University canceled four days of classes because of Lili, and 20 Texas A&M University Galveston, Texas students evacuated to the school's College Station location. The University of South Alabama canceled two athletic events in advance of the storm.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Lili
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