MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Alabama Gov. Bob Riley issued a mandatory evacuation order Sunday morning for some parts of coastal Mobile and Baldwin counties in response to Hurricane Gustav, but it did not immediately include Gulf Shores and Orange Beach where thousands showed up for the Labor Day holiday.
Riley says Gustav could pose a flood threat to the areas covered by the evacuation order.
The evacuation order covers areas south of Interstate 10 in the southernmost part of Mobile County and on the west side of Mobile Bay, east of Dauphin Island Parkway.
Fowl River, Coden and Bayou La Batre, which was wrecked and flooded by Hurricane Katrina three years ago, are included in the order.
In Baldwin County, the evacuation order includes Fort Morgan Peninsula and Plash Island. Hundreds of resort homes are in that area.
The order did not immediately include Gulf Shores and Orange Beach where thousands of tourists, including some Louisiana evacuees, have rooms. Tourism officials estimate some 40,000 visitors are on the Alabama coast for Labor Day.
Meanwhile, state transportation officials have workers in place along Interstate 65 in case the evacuation requires reversing lanes to only northbound. That order was not immediately given Sunday morning.
Gov. Riley has scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. in Mobile to discuss Hurricane Gustav preparations.
Stay with NBC13 HD News and NBC13.COM for the latest on Hurricane Gustav.
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