Residents prepare for hard-to-predict storm

Even if the exact path of Hanna isn't quite known yet, coastal-area residents are preparing for the tropical storm, whose slow-moving and hard-to-predict ways made work difficult for emergency managers Wednesday.

The scenes in Savannah were typical. At the Twelve Oaks Publix, shopping carts were filled with bottled water and batteries. At the Sam's gas station on Montgomery Cross Road, lines were unusually long. Residents coming out of the Victory Drive Home Depot took home lumber and generators.

Eileen Trace was one of those lumber buyers. A co-owner of a downtown barbecue restaurant, she was at her shop, Angel's, Wednesday. "We are getting wood for our windows. We have everything we need if we need to evacuate. We have water and our cat carriers for our pets," Trace said. "I'll evacuate if it's mandatory. Other than that, I'm going to wait and see."

Other residents walking around sunny downtown also said they would take an "if" or "maybe" attitude toward evacuating. Stephen Cyr is a manager at the Savannah theater company, Cardinal Rep, and an ex-Floridian. He said, it would depend on the storm's strength. "Evacuation would be a little overzealous for a Category 1," Cyr said. "I've always stayed for Category 1's and Category 2's."

Forecasts Wednesday still had Hanna tracking east toward South Carolina. While the prediction left some residents breathing easier, officials still warned that a half-degree change in the track could put Savannah in the storm's direct path. The Red Cross was prepared for a strike.

"We have people here whose specialty is mass care, which is sheltering, feeding, bulk distribution," said Tina Hardy, a Red Cross spokesman. "We have people who are prepared to staff up if we need to."