USS Alabama storm shelter
The USS Alabama, now a permanent museum in Mobile, AL, will also serve as a storm shelter when Category III Hurricane Dennis makes landfall. The mighty battleship is firmly anchored there and did not budge during Ivan, as she has pylons that go deep into the grounds. The Battleship Tour is definitely worth checking out on her next trip to Mobile Alabama. There are WWI and WWII artillery guns out front similar to the outdoor display in Waikiki, HI at the adjacent Beachside Museum. There are also some Cold War jet planes at the front. We had a great time on our last visit there.
http://www.aircraftwashguys.com/tour2.shtml
The tour is expensive with an amazing gift shop, that will survive the storm. If Mobile, AL is hit directly, it won’t be the first hurricane to hit the city. Many parts of Mobile are prone to flooding, including the underground tunnel. If the storm reaches Category IV hurricane force winds, it may also completely destroy the I-10 carriageway. If this happens, FEMA’s efforts will have to come through the north and, as the flooding persists, they will use the once great and powerful USS Alabama as their headquarters. Many hurricane experts think it is possible for Hurricane Dennis to slow down and veer slightly in direction. The water temperatures are warmer near the coast and this could spell a serious blow.
One of the biggest problems is flooding, as many cities in AL, GA, LA, TN, FL Panhandle, and the Mississippi area are saturated. Imagine a tornado that is ten miles wide, having additional tornadoes escorting it, and 15 foot ocean waves and voila. Hurricane Dennis is a season’s early warning of things to come as two more rotating tropical storms come after it at 5 1/2 day intervals and the water off the African coast along with stormy seas ignite with fury. Perhaps those who live in California prefer earthquakes to the disastrous effects of these increasingly intense hurricanes this decade?
