Gustav - go away!

Well, we are experiencing what feels to be our first real threat of a hurricane since we moved to the gulf coast 2 years ago. There have been a few little scares here and there in the past, but this is first one that feels kind of real and that I can see has people a little nervous.

Lots of antsy kids today when I subbed in high school. Notes home from teachers saying to pray for a shift in the storm. Lots of people in Walmart trying not to seem nervous but loading up on water, generators, flashlights, and food. Lines at the gas station.

So, here is what I did: I restocked a few things for our 72 hour kits, and bought some fresh water. Then I got gas because prices will go up as an evacuation gets closer. I also filled our gas cans, so we've got about 10 extra gallons. Finally, I'm making sure we have all of our important papers ready if we need to evacuate, and other things that we won't take but will put in plastic bins and store high on shelves (pictures, etc.).

There was an emergency ward council meeting tonight, and out of that has come this plan: We will evacuate on Saturday or Sunday if it looks like this storm will be a direct hit of category 3 or higher. We are going to Hattiesburg, which is where our ward has been assigned to gather in case of evacuation (although most people will go to family or friends homes rather than the church - but we have no friends or family outside of our area). If it's cat 2 or lower, or not a direct hit, we're riding it out - most likely at Doug's office which is a very secure building in an area of town that traditionally does not flood. Our home is in a slightly more vulnerable part of town for flooding, and our home did have some wind damage in Katrina. Also, there is a very secure room at his office with no windows, which would be a good place to ride it out.

We are good on supplies and preparation, I feel at peace with it all. Still, praying very hard that the storm will weaken or at least take a path that will hit an area with low population. Not just for our sake, but for the sake of everyone else on the gulf coast.

One thing is...with Doug's work, it's looking like no matter where it hits, it will most likely be in the area his job with LDSFS covers. Which means that if it hits a populated area, he and his coworkers are going to be really busy helping people deal with it all. His office covers pretty much from the Texas/Louisiana border over to the Florida panhandle. If you look at the "cone of probability", almost all of the areas it could hit are in that area. So, I suppose that by this time next week, LDSFS will be very busy helping people even if we escape it here in our town.