Cindy Dumps, Runs On Gulf Coast

Residents prepared for possible flooding as a weakening Tropical Storm Cindy headed toward the Mississippi Gulf Coast early Wednesday after pelting the Louisiana shores with squalls of heavy rain and wind.

With up to 10 inches of rain possible, authorities cautioned people in low-lying areas to be ready to evacuate if necessary. A pre-emptive state of emergency was declared by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour for coastal and southern counties.

Cindy's sustained winds of 70 mph brought squalling rains and heavy downpours, reports Dave Cohen of CBS radio affiliate WWL-AM. Thousands of people were left with no electricity. Throughout metropolitan New Orleans, trees and power lines were down and debris was scattered.

Emergency officials in Mississippi said they were bracing for a slightly weakened system with winds up to 60 mph Wednesday.

Most people along the coast were taking the storm in stride.

"When the birds leave, then we've got a problem," said Barbara Blanchard, who lives with her husband, Don, in a home raised 8 feet off the ground in Bay St. Louis.

"The birds aren't worried. The pressure must not be dropping," her husband added.

Nevertheless, the couple had placed a supply of sand bags around a patio and workshop beneath their house.

"It looks like it's going to be a busy season, so we're going to get our sandbags now, so we can use them later," said another man.
They may be using them sooner than they thought, reports CBS News Correspondent Lee Cowan. Tropical Storm Dennis, a larger and more powerful storm, could hit Florida as early as Friday, and forecasters say it could well head back into the Gulf of Mexico and make a beeline for Louisiana and Mississippi early next week.

"We expected a busy year without the active start, so this just highlights, I think, the concern that all of us have that are in the hurricane business that hurricanes are going to return to the U.S. some year and maybe this will be the year," said meteorologist Neil Frank of CBS affiliate KHOU. Frank is a former head of the National Hurricane Center.

Dennis was moving west-northwest at about 16 mph and was centered about 275 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, early Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Fishermen worked to tie down their boats along the coast where tides were expected to rise several feet, putting stress on ropes and moorings.

"I've got three boats and three headaches," said John Livings, a shrimp and oyster fisherman in Pass Christian.

Livings said he was eyeing Dennis on the horizon. "A rough week or two added on a rough shrimp season," he said.

Tropical Storms Cindy and Dennis are the third and fourth named storms of the Atlantic hurricane season. July 5 is the earliest date on record for four named storms, and worries about the already active season helped send oil prices climbing briefly past $60 a barrel Tuesday.

A survey of oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico found that 23 petroleum production platforms and six drilling rigs had been evacuated, interrupting more than 3 percent of the gulf's normal oil and natural gas production.

Casinos and other businesses along the Mississippi coast were also prepared to take a hit in the wallet.

"It's light traffic tonight," said Kevin Murphy, owner of a restaurant overlooking the beach at Bay St. Louis.