Evacuations Mississippi

Slowly but furiously, Hurricane Georges crawled across the tan sands of the Gulf Coast on Monday and lumbered into the state of Mississippi, causing three deaths, spreading destruction across hundreds of miles and driving out 1.5 million people in one of the biggest evacuations in hurricane history. National Guard troops waded through chest-deep water to carry children to safety. More than 400 people fled shelter in a college gym after the wind demolished the roof.

Thousands of residents north and south of the Mississippi-Louisiana border were ordered to evacuate Thursday because of the possible failure of an Isaac-battered dam. Officials are considering breaching the Lake Tangipahoa dam in order to direct water into a forested area and prevent massive flooding to low-lying residential communities downstream. "If you live in these areas, leave immediately for higher ground," the National Weather Service warned Thursday. PHOTOS: Isaac lashes Gulf Coast Gordon Burgess, president of Tangipahoa Parish in Louisiana, called for the mandatory evacuation -- believed to be about 40,000 to 60,000 residents -- along the Tangipahoa River.

Thousands of residents north and south of the Mississippi-Louisiana border were ordered to evacuate Thursday because of the possible failure of an Isaac-battered dam. Officials are considering breaching the Lake Tangipahoa dam in order to direct water into a forested area and prevent massive flooding to low-lying residential communities downstream. "If you live in these areas, leave immediately for higher ground," the National Weather Service warned Thursday. PHOTOS: Isaac lashes Gulf Coast Gordon Burgess, president of Tangipahoa Parish in Louisiana, called for the mandatory evacuation -- believed to be about 40,000 to 60,000 residents -- along the Tangipahoa River.

Slowly but furiously, Hurricane Georges crawled across the tan sands of the Gulf Coast on Monday and lumbered into the state of Mississippi, causing three deaths, spreading destruction across hundreds of miles and driving out 1.5 million people in one of the biggest evacuations in hurricane history. National Guard troops waded through chest-deep water to carry children to safety. More than 400 people fled shelter in a college gym after the wind demolished the roof.