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CNN Sunday Morning

Barry Looms off Gulf Coast

Aired August 05, 2001 - 09:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
REA BLAKEY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, people in the Florida Panhandle are urged to keep a close eye on Barry's progress and to take the appropriate steps to protect themselves.

We're joined now by James Loftus of Florida Emergency Management. Are you expecting an evacuation? What are you telling people in that area?

JAMES LOFTUS, FLORIDA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: We're telling people, Rea, that they have to be aware of what's going on. It's a Sunday morning. This storm, as Jill eluded to, obviously strengthened overnight, kind of by surprise, although we've had meteorologists studying it for the last couple of days and we know that when storms are in the Gulf that they're sometimes unpredictable.

So, we're asking people to pay attention to their local Emergency Management Director in case their Emergency Management Directors order protective actions. They should know that it's a Sunday, it's kind of a quiet day, but they have to be aware of this storm and they have to take, hopefully, they have their hurricane that they've developed for their family and they will execute it.

BLAKEY: Well, Jim, don't you think this puts you at a bit of a disadvantage, simply because we've sort of been on again, off again, and then at last when people are really paying great attention, things might have been slowing down, and now, you know, suddenly we've got this sense of urgency.

LOFTUS: Right, and that's our challenge. It's a weekend, you know, for a lot of people they thought this thing was heading toward Louisiana and they may have let their guard down, but now there is still time to implement their plan and to pay close attention to their Local Emergency Management officials, to their local news outlets, to see whether they might be ordering protective actions. And we preach to people in Florida that they have to have their own hurricane plan and be aware and we're hoping they'll do that today.

BLAKEY: Do you anticipate there is going to be that sudden surge, you know, at the hardware store, people buying the plywood and trying to prepare that way. Do you think this might cause a little bit of chaos, just because of the timing?

LOFTUS: Well, possibly. It seems like that happens all the time, that a lot of people just kind of ignore hurricane season until it happens, and then there is kind of a run on bottled water and that kind of thing. And that may happen today, although some of the people that live in the Panhandle have experienced these storms, hurricanes and other tropical storms, and they know the danger of them. And hopefully we'll be able to make sure that everybody is taking the right action and we want to, you know, reduce the loss of life and property.

BLAKEY: All right, Jim Loftus from the Florida Emergency Management System, thanks for joining us.

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