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Jackson Co. keeps an eye on Tropical Storm Ida

By Patrice Clark- bio | email

JACKSON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) - People in Jackson County were keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Ida Monday. They didn't waste time protecting their property from rough weather.

“It is important because if your stuff gets wet, you have to throw it away and start over,” Louis Griffin said.  

Griffin lives in Escatawpa and owns a pawn shop that was flooded during Katrina.  She said now she doesn't take any rain event lightly.

“I am always scared that it would flood again. I just hope and pray that it don't."

Prayers were echoed across the county along with more preparations and last minute fill ups.

“So you won't be stranded anywhere, and there is no way to get gas or anything like that,” one Pascagoula driver said.

City and county employees spent the day securing property.  Crews rushed to take down awnings at Pascagoula’s city hall. The county road department trucked in sand.  On Highway 90, firefighters filled the median removing dozens of American flags off of poles so the wind wouldn't rip them apart.

“The winds are picking up," Pascagoula Lt. Mark Culpepper said. "If they fly off they may hit a windshield on a car or cause somebody to get hurt. We have to get them all down."

Civil Defense Director Donald Langham was thankful when Ida was downgraded to a tropical storm. He alerted people to expect a lot of wind and rain, and said he was happy to see citizens taking the storm seriously.

“The main concern to me right now is the flooding that is going to happen," Langham said. "We’re expecting quite a bit of rain; two or three inches of rainfall along with the high tides and a little bit of surge that is going to pushed in  from the storm.”

With only a few weeks left in hurricane season 2009, citizens said the bad weather shows you never can predict the steps of Mother Nature.

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