MONTGOMERY, Ala. – As Hurricane Isaias pushes closer, local, state and federal officials are encouraging Alabamians to make a plan to stay safe.
The storm contains winds of around 120 miles per hour and is currently 220 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, meteorologist James Spann said in a social media post. Spann said that landfall is expected late Friday along the Alabama-Florida line with winds of 100 miles per hour.
Gov. Kay Ivey also announced Thursday that all state buildings in Baldwin, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Mobile counties will close at noon Friday.
The governor established a state of emergency Wednesday for 40 of Alabama’s 67 counties – Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Chilton, Clarke, Choctaw, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Dallas, Elmore, Escambia, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Washington and Wilcox.
That went into effect at 4 p.m. Wednesday and will remain in place until Oct. 14 at 11:59 p.m.
In addition to activating the National Guard, Ivey announced Alabama’s price-gouging law is now in effect, which forbids anyone from increasing the price of goods or lodging by 25% or more than their average price during the state of emergency.
Sellers who do so are subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation with a daily maximum of $25,000, according to the Code of Alabama. “Continuous and willful violations” could lead to a court revoking a retailer’s business license.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also deployed its Incident Management Assistance Teams to Alabama and Florida ahead of the storm’s expected landfall. FEMA has stocked emergency supplies at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery to supplement state resources if needed.
The state will share Alabama-specific updates on social media using the handle @AlabamaEMA.
“We often hear in emergency management: Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst,” Ivey said in the video. “That is the approach we need with this particular storm system. After all, we only want to see one Tide roll this weekend.”
Alabama vs. Georgia game
The game between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the University of Georgia Bulldogs is still set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, university officials confirmed in a post at 3:20 p.m. Thursday.
ESPN has moved its live “College GameDay” broadcast indoors to Coleman Coliseum because of the hurricane.
President Donald Trump announced that he would attend the top-25 matchup during his rally in Mobile last Friday. He said earlier today that it’s unclear whether he will be able to attend.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.