County Declares Emergency, Announces Closure

Posted on: Nov 9th, 2009 | Announcements

As Hurricane Ida approached Mobile, the Mobile County Commission Monday morning declared a local state of emergency and voted to close county offices at Mobile Government Plaza on Tuesday, November 10. ?We want to make sure our citizens stay safe and that we can effectively deal with emergencies that might occur,? said County Commission president Mike Dean. All county offices will be closed on Tuesday except for the Mobile County Public Works Department and the Mobile County Sheriff?s Office. Mobile County administration, the County Revenue and License Commissions and the Probate, Circuit and District Courts will be closed. The Public Works staff will be fully deployed during the storm, which is expected to make landfall early Tuesday. On Monday, the Public Works Department was readying its equipment and will be monitoring storm activity on the streets until winds make it unsafe. Once the winds subside to 45 to 50 mph, the workers will be back on the roads to start clearing them for emergency vehicles and normal traffic. Priorities will be to clear the larger thoroughfares first. At the same time, Public Works will assess intersections for signals or stop signs that are down. After roadways are made passable, Public Works employees will begin the process of removing roadway debris and cleaning up. Motorists are asked to stay off the roadways if possible during and immediately after the storm. They are also being asked to avoid driving into water on the roadway, particularly when a flow of water can be observed. In some instances, the water can break up the pavement of the roadway or wash out the road. Deep water also may float a car and take control out of the hands of the driver. If an intersection signal is out of commission, motorists are asked to treat the intersection as if it were a four-way stop.