Louisville expecting evacuees from Gulf Coast

The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. --Louisville officials say they expect to get the first flight of Hurricane Gustav evacuees from the Gulf Coast as early as Saturday evening.

Chris Poynter, spokesman for Mayor Jerry Abramson, said the city and Red Cross will start to set up cots, feeding areas and registrations tables Saturday morning at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center.

Poynter has said the evacuees would be flown from New Orleans to Louisville, which is prepared to house 3,000 people at the center for up to a week.

Gustav swelled into a major hurricane south of Cuba and could strike the U.S. coast anywhere from Mississippi to Texas by Tuesday.

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State of emergency declared in Oklahoma as state prepares to host Gustav evacuees

From Staff ReportsGov. Brad Henry has declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma, a precursor to requesting federal disaster assistance in the event the state hosts evacuees from Louisiana due to Hurricane Gustav, according to a state Department of Emergency Management news release.

Voluntary evacuations are under way now in Louisiana coastal areas, including New Orleans. The category 4 storm is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast on Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

The start of the evacuation of about 150 hospital patients from Louisiana to Oklahoma, reported earlier to be taking place today and Sunday, has been postponed, an Air National Guard spokeswoman said. The patients may still be evacuated to Oklahoma eventually, but flights are not expected to begin until this evening at the earliest.

If patients are flown to Oklahoma, they will arrive at the Air National Guard base at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City and be taken by ambulance to local hospitals, according to the release.

Oklahoma's Emergency Operations Center has been activated, and officials with the state Department of Emergency Management are working with federal, Texas and Louisiana authorities to coordinate assistance efforts.

Sustained winds of up to 145 mph were reported in association with the storm, according to the release. Early this afternoon, hurricane-force winds extended outward 70 miles from the eye of the storm, which was located near the Isle of Youth south of Cuba. Tropical storm-force winds extended outward 175 miles.

Officials statewide began preparations to assist with relief efforts this week. Crews from the American Red Cross have been dispatched to forward staging areas in Texas, and authorities were beginning to assess evacuee hosting and aid capabilities of organizations across Oklahoma.

Tulsa Red Cross officials have set up four shelters for evacuees and have contacted all of the organization’s local volunteers, notifying them that they will be needed if evacuees arrive in Oklahoma.

Nationally, the Red Cross has moved hundreds of supply trucks and thousands of volunteers into staging areas near the coast