A Day of Preparation

LIBERTY, September 11, 2008 - Today is a day of preparation for Hurricane Ike in Liberty.

According to City of Liberty Emergency Management Coordinator Fred Collins, citizens of Liberty should prepare for a weather event that could possibly be worse than Hurricane Rita.

Ike is a larger storm than Rita was and we are on the dirty side of the storm. It is projected to make landfall somewhere slightly south and west of the immediate coast south of Liberty.

During hurricane Rita most of the City of Liberty evacuated however the path of Ike has been changing so rapidly that few have had the opportunity to evacuate. It's likely there will be far more people riding out the storm in Liberty than during Rita.

Collins stated that it is possible that Liberty could experience tropical force winds starting as early as 11:00 AM on Friday and that those winds could remain for a period of 24 hours increasing to hurricane force.

The City is anticipating damage to electrical infrastructure similar to that experienced during Rita.

Traffic is expected to increase dramatically on Thursday as people to our south and west start to evacuate. Local residents are encouraged to stay off the main highways of SH 146, the Bypass and US 90 using local streets to get around if it is necessary for you to travel.

Stay turned for the next couple of days as we plan to keep you informed throughout this weather event.

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