Published: September 11, 2008 10:52 pm      

Ike pushes water onto some areas of Miss. Coast

GULFPORT (AP) — Unusually high tides whipped up by Hurricane Ike flooded some streets and yards in low areas along the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Thursday.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said the flooding was again threatening to enter some Katrina cottages. Gov. Haley Barbour called Thursday for the activation of the Mississippi National Guard for flood support operations.

About 100 Guard troops were sent to help, including to conduct patrols and checkpoints to secure neighborhoods and businesses until the floodwaters recede, Guard spokesman Tim Powell said.

Katherine Crowell, a MEMA spokeswoman, said the high tides are expected to peak during the midmorning hours on Friday.

A number of the cottages, designed to provide safer and more permanent living accommodations than FEMA trailers for families who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina, were flooded when Hurricane Gustav’s storm surge pushed into low areas and backed into rivers and streams on Sept. 1.

‘‘This is not a mandatory evacuation but we’re encouraging them to do so,’’ Crowell said. ‘‘People who had flooding during Gustav may expect flooding from Ike also.’’

MEMA officials said they did not expect problems from Ike’s winds as it pushed westward in the Gulf, heading for a weekend landfall along the Texas coast.

A tropical storm warning was extended Thursday to include the Mississippi-Alabama border and westward to areas east of Cameron, La. A hurricane watch was in effect from Cameron to Port Mansfield, Texas.

Bobby Weaver, a spokesman for the Harrison County Emergency Operations Center, said the weather service had told coast officials to expect winds in the 20- to 30-miles per hour range and an inch or so of rain.

He said Ike would keep water levels high until it pushed far enough to the west on Friday to allow the wind to diminish.

Weaver said emergency officials were making arrangements to open a shelter Thursday night for those unable to return to their homes who are not staying with friends or relatives.

In the wake of Gustav, Gov. Haley Barbour requested that a number of south Mississippi counties be declared eligible for federal assistance. That request is pending.



AP-CS-09-11-08 1656EDT