via accuweather.com
Friday, September 2, 2011
Mississippi Declares State Of Emergency For 7 Counties, Tremendous Flooding Expected
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Laura Hipp (601) 576-2020; lhipp@governor.state.ms.us
DATE: Sept. 2, 2011
GOV. BARBOUR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY SOUTHERN
MISSISSIPPI
JACKSON – Gov. Haley Barbour today declared a State of Emergency in several
Mississippi counties that will be impacted by severe tropical weather in the Gulf of
Mexico.
The counties affected include: George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Marion, Pearl River
and Stone counties and other affected areas.
“Do not underestimate the impact of this system of tropical weather,” Gov. Barbour said.
“While it is not a hurricane, this weather system is expected to cause tremendous flooding.
Make preparations now to protect your family and your property
Job Growth at Halt in U.S. - Worst Showing in 11 Months
The flat performance was down sharply from a revised 85,000 gain of jobs in July, the Labor Department said Friday, and was far below a consensus forecast by economists of 60,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate stayed constant at 9.1 percent in August.
The nonfarm payrolls numbers were unchanged after a prolonged increase in economic anxiety in August that began with the brinksmanship in Washington’s debt-ceiling debate, followed by the country’s loss of its triple-A credit rating, stock market whiplash and renewed concerns about Europe’s sovereign debt.
Wall Street stocks promptly lost more than 2 percent of their value at the opening of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 210 points Friday morning to 11,280.07.
The jobs figure, a monthly statistical snapshot by the Department of Labor, appears slightly more negative than it is because it does not include 45,000 Verizon workers who were on strike when the survey was taken but who will reappear in next month’s report.
Economists blamed both sluggish demand for goods and services and the heightened uncertainty over the economy’s direction for the slow pace of job creation, saying political deadlock was in effect creating economic paralysis.
“Business confidence surveys have uniformly pointed to businesses who are not laying off workers, but who are holding off on hiring while they wait for a clearer outlook — an outlook that became much cloudier and more volatile” beginning with the debt-ceiling battle in July, said Ellen Zentner, the senior United States economist for Nomura Securities.
Government continued to shed jobs, but the bulk of the loss was in local government, which lost 20,000 positions. State government actually posted a gain of 5,000 jobs.
Two of the bright spots in the economy over the last year, manufacturing and retail, lost steam, falling by 3,000 and 8,000 jobs, respectively. The health care sector added 29,700 jobs in August.
The number of long-term unemployed — people out of work for 27 weeks or more — remained about the same as in July, at 6 million, as did the median duration of unemployment, at 19.6 weeks compared with 19.7 weeks in July.
The general unemployment rate, which counts only people who looked for work in the previous four weeks, held steady at 9.1 percent. But a broader measure that includes people who have looked for work in the last year and people who were involuntarily working part-time instead of full-time, fell to 16.1 percent from 16.3 percent. The percent of working-age adults who were employed, already at its lowest rate since 1983, ticked down from 58.6 percent to 58.5 percent.
While there is still a chance that the United States can slip into a double-dip recession, many economists believe that the economy will stay in growth mode, albeit at levels barely perceptible, much less comforting, to Americans without jobs.
“We’ve got at least another 12 months of difficulty to go through,” said Steven Ricchiuto, United States economist for Mizuho Securities USA. “I know that doesn’t help politicians who are worried about the elections.”
The poor showing is likely to be seized on by President Obama in his prime-time address to Congress on Thursday as proof that bolder government action is needed to create jobs.
There is considerable skepticism that any ambitious plan to bolster job growth would be politically feasible. But several economists said that given the fragility of the recovery, the payroll tax cut and extended unemployment benefits, both set to expire at the end of the year, should be renewed.
“It’s probably not the time for adding to fiscal drag,” said Jim O’Sullivan, the chief economist for MF Global. He said that together the tax cut and unemployment benefits account for 1 percent of the gross domestic product.
Some analysts downgraded their forecast for the jobs numbers on Thursday based on new economic indicators including weaker online job advertising, a rise in announced layoffs and a growing pessimism about the job market by consumers. A major report on manufacturing showed slowing employment growth and shrinking production and new orders.
But other indicators suggested that fears of recession have outstripped reality. Consumer confidence dropped sharply and pending home sales dipped, but in July retail sales increased and orders for durable goods — expensive items often purchased on credit — were up 4 percent. On the other hand, a report on chain-store sales indicated slack back-to-school shopping, further slowed by Hurricane Irene.
via nytimes.com
Gulf braces for rain from tropical depression
Gulf braces for rain from tropical depressionBy JANET MCCONNAUGHEY, Associated Press – 5 hours ago
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A slow-moving tropical depression was slogging toward the Gulf coast Friday, packing walloping rains that could drench the region with up to 20 inches.
Louisiana's governor declared a state of emergency Thursday because of the threat of flash flooding.
Tropical storm warnings were issued from Mississippi to Texas including New Orleans. The National Hurricane Center said the system will dump 10 to 15 inches of rain over southern areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama through Sunday and as much as 20 inches in some spots.
The depression also could become Tropical Storm Lee, the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Forecasts were for landfall over the weekend on southern Louisiana's coast. The depression had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) Friday morning. It was drifting slowly north near 1 mph (2 kph) with the hurricane center predicting slow, possibly erratic motion.
"Wow. This could be a very heavy, prolific rainmaker," National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Revitte said.
According to a hurricane center chart, maximum sustained winds could reach 60 mph by Saturday, lower than hurricane strength of 74 mph.
As hurricane season is hitting its peak in the Atlantic, storm watchers were monitoring three disturbances. Besides the Gulf depression, Tropical Storm Katia (KAH'-tee-yah) was spinning in open waters. It weakened from a hurricane Thursday, though forecasters said it would again grow stronger.
It was about 750 miles (1,205 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands and moving west-northwest near 15 mph (24 kph) with maximum sustained winds early Friday near 70 mph (110 kph). It could regain hurricane strength this weekend but forecasters said it's too early to tell if it would hit the U.S. It was expected to pass north of the Caribbean.
In yet another system, a slow-moving low pressure system about 450 miles (724 kilometers) south of Nova Scotia, Canada, had a 60 percent chance early Friday of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next two days.
They all come on the heels of Hurricane Irene, which brought destruction from North Carolina to New England late last month.
In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal said he was concerned about the serious threat of flash flooding in his state, leading to his emergency action. After devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005, nothing is taken for granted.
Craig Taffaro, president of coastal St. Bernard Parish, said some flood gates were being closed along bayous and residents were being warned to brace for heavy rain. Still, in a parish that was nearly wiped out six years ago by Katrina, Taffaro wasn't expecting a major event.
"We'd like the public to use this as a drill. Hopefully that's all it will be," he said early Thursday afternoon.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates major flood control structures at New Orleans, was monitoring developments but didn't plan on closing any flood control structures yet, spokesman Ricky Boyett said in an email.
Emergency officials along Mississippi's Gulf Coast expected to get plans in place Friday to deal with the effects from the tropical depression. Jackson County spokesman Ken Flanagan said conference calls were scheduled Friday with Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, along with weather officials.
In Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley ordered state emergency management and other agencies to be ready to respond if needed.
Already, the storm has forced two major petroleum producers to remove crews from a handful of production platforms. Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil said they would also cut off a small amount of production. Both moves affect only a fraction of production.
Louisiana needs rain — just not that much, that fast. Both Texas and Louisiana have been suffering through drought. New Orleans, which was least affected by the drought, already was being pelted by sporadic rain. More of a problem is stubborn marsh fire that has blanketed the city with smoke, though the rain will help extinguish it.
"Sometimes you get what you ask for," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. "Unfortunately it looks like we're going to get more than we needed."
Louisiana's emergency action allows Jindal to activate the National Guard if necessary and generally makes it easier for parishes and the state to prepare. It also lets parishes ask the state to repay money spent to prepare and fight floods, and lets the state track such expenses, Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said.
"Now is the time for Louisianians to make sure they have a game plan for themselves and their families should this storm strengthen," Jindal said in a statement.
On Grand Isle, the state's only inhabited barrier island, people were keeping an eye on the storm that has already brought rain there.
"We're watching it — we're watching it closely," said June Brignac, owner of the Wateredge Beach Resort.
It's not as frightening as having a Category 2 or 3 hurricane bearing down, she said.
"But we're still concerned with all the rain that's coming in, causing possible flooding of the highway going out. If we don't leave, we may be trapped here until it's completely past," she said.
Katrina was the only storm to flood the suites in her motel, which is raised several feet from the ground, in the 20 years she has owned it.
It was still unclear where the system would head next, but it could bring much-needed relief to drought-plagued Texas.
Small craft warnings were issued from northwest Florida to Texas as seas of at least 1 to 2 feet above normal were in the forecasts. Winds are likely to push tides up to three feet above normal.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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