It’s late Thursday morning in Orange Beach, Ala., and the calm winds, grayish clouds and 76-degree temperature give little indication that Hurricane Isaias is expected to make landfall in less than 24 hours.
Time was of the essence for residents and visitors of this coastal town on the Alabama and Florida border. There are two main roads in Orange Beach and two bridges. Both will be closed by 12 p.m. on Friday.
“We’re actually doing pretty good,” said Cindy Wall, a Magnolia Springs resident who works at Sam’s Stop & Shop. “We’re one of the few people that still have gas that didn’t run out. And we still have plenty of propane, gas cans and ice.”
Since 1978, the store has been a popular spot for residents and visitors alike, selling fuel, fishing supplies and even a deli.
According to Ms. Wall, memories of Hurricane Sally, a Category 2 storm that made landfall in Gulf Shores, Ala., in September 2020, have pushed people to be ready for Hurricane Isaias. Hurricane Sally took a circuitous route along the coast, dropping significant rain and battering the coast with storm surge.
“Especially the boaters,” Ms. Wall said. “With what happened to them in Hurricane Sally, you just never know. We take care of a lot of the boat captains, and you get close with them, especially when you see them every day. One left and she said, ‘I love you, but I’m not staying.’”
Avery Purvis and Reagan Roberts, who have been Orange Beach residents since 2017, were at Sam’s Stop & Shop unloading bags of ice into their cooler.
“We live in a tiny house, so we’re hoping for the best,” Ms. Purvis said.
The pair’s main concern was their cats.
“It’s like, stay or not stay,” Ms. Purvis said. “We got three cats, so it’s kind of hard to find somewhere to stay with three cats with you.”
Ms. Roberts said they had made her decision easier.
“I am not leaving them,” Ms. Roberts said, shaking her head. “If she wanted to leave, I told her she could leave. I’m staying with the cats. I can’t leave them.”
For now, a voluntary evacuation order for Orange Beach and Gulf Shores was in place. Mandatory evacuations can be issued only by Gov. Kay Ivey, who declared a state of emergency late Wednesday afternoon.
Ms. Roberts and Ms. Purvis recalled Hurricane Sally as they looked ahead to Isaias.
“It was really cool to see the community come together after Sally,” Ms. Roberts said. “We have people in our neighborhood that we know we can go to if we need certain things.”
Ms. Wall said late Thursday morning that she was staying optimistic ahead of the storm’s expected arrival as soon as Friday afternoon.
“You just got to go with the flow,” she said. “That’s all you can do.”
The post On Alabama’s Coast, Memories of Hurricane Sally Still Loom appeared first on New York Times.
