Mandatory evacuation issued for Bay St. Louis Harbor

Early Tuesday morning the city of Bay St. Louis issued a mandatory evacuation for all boats in its harbor.

The harbor was initially under a voluntary evacuation but was escalated to a mandatory evacuation after Hurricane Francine made an eastward shift Tuesday morning.

However, several boats still remain in the harbor which according to harbor officials, is due in part to the short notice of the evacuation. Usually boat owners receive 3-4 days notice before having to evacuate their boats in case of storms, but with the recent eastward shift of Hurricane Francine the evacuation was given on extremely short notice.

The harbor understands that some owners may be out of town or other circumstances may prevent them from moving their boats, and if they can absolutely not remove their boats from their harbor they need to ensure that they are securely fastened.

For Bay St. Louis Harbor Master, Sean Hales, the safety of South Mississippians is of utmost importance.

“My recommendation is at this point, being that we are where are in this process and it happened as quick as it did, is get out here, check your boats, check your lines, make sure your plan is in place. If you’re still planning on evacuating at this point, make sure people know where you’re going.”