Gustav strengthens into Hurricane
As you can see from the above image, Gustav’s eye is now clearly visible. The storm has become an official hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters say Gustav will make landfall in Louisiana early Tuesday morning as a possible category 3 storm. A category 3 storm would batter the coast with winds between 111 and 130 miles per hour.
As Gustav churns northward, Gulf Coast residents are scrambling north as well. Hotel rooms are scarce in South Arkansas. As I reported here earlier, the desk clerk at the Holiday Inn Express in Camden said that the property does have rooms available this weekend and beginning on Wednesday.
The nearest available rooms for Monday through Wednesday are in Bryant, the clerk said.
If you know anyone who needs a room, try the Holiday Inn Express in Camden at (870) 836-8100.
The hotel clerk said that they have residents from Louisiana checking in today, and the rooms are going fast.
The best bet to find a hotel is to call around, as cancellations can happen.
The Camden News this afternoon is reporting that there are a few rooms available at the Super 8 hotel at 942 Adams Ave. They are going quickly, though.
The South Arkansas Chapter of the American Red Cross reports that shelters at College Avenue Church of Christ at at St. John’s Baptist Church on Wilson Street have been put on standby.
August 29th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Thank you for all your work in keeping us informed about the hurricane. I have a sister in Baton Rouge. I hope this thing isn’t as bad as they say it will be. I like to visit this site for breaking news. I see that you are posting more, and that’s a good thing. Keep it up!