Tropical Storm Forces Evacuations Along Gulf Coast

The 2,000 residents of Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island were asked to evacuate Saturday as Tropical Storm Jerry churned through the Gulf of Mexico.

After the storm weakened, a hurricane watch for the coast from the mouth of the Mississippi River west to Port Arthur, Tex., was changed to a less serious tropical storm watch.

The National Weather Service reported that the storm had slowed, with maximum sustained winds down from 70 m.p.h. to near 65 m.p.h., and movement north-northeast at about 6 m.p.h., down from 13 m.p.h. The storm was expected to reach land today at the earliest.

Oil companies continued evacuating the more than 4,000 people who work on offshore rigs, Texas authorities mobilized emergency workers, and Mississippi officials worried about whether they would have to postpone a special election Tuesday.

In Grand Isle, Mayor Andy Valence said he asked residents to evacuate starting Saturday morning, even though the storm’s main effect at the time was good fishing.

Traffic appeared normal in both directions on Louisiana Highway 1, the only road connecting the island to the mainland, but Valence estimated that up to 1,000 people had left by midday. He said most of the 150 or so boats moored at Grand Isle left Friday at his request to avoid tie-ups at a drawbridge.

Coastal flooding was a major concern. Because of the way the Earth, sun and moon are aligned, tides through Friday are expected to peak at their highest levels in a decade.