Gulf Shores, AL – State leaders are prodding Alabama's coastal counties to make earlier decisions on hurricane evacuations so residents have more time to get away if a major storm threatens the Gulf of Mexico.
With hurricane season starting Friday, officials tell The Associated Press that state leaders have pushed for the change in meetings held as recently as this week.
Baldwin County emergency management director Mitchell Sims says the state wants local officials to make decisions to evacuate as far as two days ahead of a hurricane threat. That's different from the 24 to 36-hour window sought in past years.
Sims says every storm is different, and such advance decisions aren't always possible.
The director of the state emergency management agency says officials want to provide the maximum amount of time for evacuations.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)