MOBILE, Ala. - Four of eight shelters in Mobile County were filled to capacity by early this morning, long lines formed at the few gas stations still open and the city emptied as the area braced itself for a direct hit from Hurricane Ivan.
By mid-afternoon, mandatory evacuations were issued to all areas south of Interstate 10 and a curfew was imposed in Mobile.
Reports of a storm surge approaching 16 feet and winds of nearly 140 mph sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing to the east, west and north. Interstates 10 and 65, slow-moving the day before, had become nearly deserted, and everything from the local home improvement stores to Hooters were boarded shut.
"It's not that the wind is blowing," said Steve Huffman from the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency. "It's what the wind is blowing."
But a surprising number of people plan to ride out the storm, though few stores or restaurants are open. City street are largely deserted. Many gas stations are boarded up and customers pound on the plywood to see if anyone is there.
For most residents, the greatest fear was a catastrophic storm moving up Mobile Bay, bringing damage that hasn't been seen since Hurricane Frederic hit the areas in 1979.
