Hurricane Isaias Prep, Competitive Midterm Races, Trump's Media Ban In Court

Steve Inskeep (0:02)

Communities from Mississippi to Florida are preparing for Hurricane Isaias.

Michel Martin (0:07)

They're preparing for flooding and high winds. How much disruption and damage is the storm expected to cause?

Steve Inskeep (0:13)

I'm Steve Inskeep with Michel Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News.

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Michel Martin (0:32)

A judge temporarily stopped President Trump's attempt to ban news outlets he doesn't like from the White House. That expires today, and the judge is hearing new arguments about what to do next. Stay with us, we'll give you news you need to start your day.

Overnight, tropical storm Isaias became a hurricane.

Steve Inskeep (0:54)

Forecasters say it will make landfall as early as tomorrow night near the Alabama Gulf Coast and Florida Panhandle. Communities are preparing for high winds and flooding.

Michel Martin (1:04)

We reach WBHM's environmental reporter, Laura Linehan in Birmingham, Alabama. Good morning, Lauren.

Laura Linehan (1:09)

Good morning.

Michel Martin (1:10)

So what are the preparations looking like?

Laura Linehan (1:13)

Well, you know, they're used to hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, right? But it's been a pretty quiet hurricane season so far with El Nino in place. So areas from the Mississippi Gulf Coast all the way to the Florida Panhandle, especially along the coast have been getting sandbags, boarding up windows, getting supplies from the grocery stores. The stores have been full with people stocking up on those hurricane supplies. They know that hurricane plan. And so for folks who are staying, who have not had evacuation orders, they are definitely making those preps right along the coast. But it's also the inland communities. I mean, here in Alabama, the National Weather Service in Birmingham is forecasting two to four inches of rain and some stronger winds inland. So you could see the potential for folks already. What they have been doing is securing their lawn furniture outside, but it's also October. So folks are having to secure their Halloween inflatables and decorations. But I also spoke with the Birmingham Humane Society and they've been asking people to donate crates because they are trying to evacuate their shelters ahead of the storm coming in. So they have room for animals to come up from the coastal shelters.

Michel Martin (2:22)

Seems like there's a little bit of uncertainty though about what the path might be. So what about events this weekend? What are people planning to do if they have big events planned?

Laura Linehan (2:31)

Yeah, you know, down here in the deep south, a big concern is going to be football. So we have already seen some high school football games being rescheduled to either earlier in the day on Friday or even tonight. And then we also have that potential for Saturday. There is a big SEC football game in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama versus Georgia matchup. And President Trump is actually scheduled to attend, but he said yesterday that he is playing everything by ear based on what happens with ESAES. So as of right now, kickoff is still set for Saturday night at 630 p.m. Central Time. And so what the University of Alabama is doing is they're just continuing to monitor the storm. If it keeps that forward momentum, the worst impacts from the storm would be happening in the morning.

Michel Martin (3:19)

Okay. What about oil refineries along the coast and platforms in the Gulf?

Laura Linehan (3:24)

Right. So we've seen some reports from the Marine Minerals Administration saying that as of Wednesday, non-essential personnel had been evacuated off eight production platforms. And that's roughly 2% of the manned platforms in the Gulf. And roughly 19% of oil rigs have been evacuated. Now, this isn't anything unusual. Anytime you have a tropical system in the Gulf, especially during hurricane season, this is the procedure they will follow. But of course, there is a question going forward, okay? As Isaias moves through the Gulf, could we see an impact on oil prices if the storm gets really bad?

Michel Martin (3:59)

And before we let you go, what are you hearing from state officials?

Laura Linehan (4:03)

Well, we have been seeing several governors declare states of emergencies. And this is just basically so they can free up resources and stage equipment along the Gulf. So they're going to be coordinating with shelters and sending out warnings as needed to the communities. And what I've seen is just really encouraging folks to be ready and pay attention to that forecast. Even now, with us being less than 48 hours out from Isaias making landfall, there's still that potential for the forecast to change. And any little shift in the track or intensity can make a big difference on who will see impacts as we're less than 48 hours out from landfall.