Olivia Slowly Drifts
Day #3: Flooding in Mexico
U.S. Leaders Watch Storm

OLIVIA DUMPING RAIN ON MEXICO
TOUGH DECISIONS FOR GULF COAST LEADERS

Monday 5:00 a.m., October 2, 1995
The Associated Press

GRAND ISLE, La. - Tropical Storm Olivia is causing flooding in Mexico and creating tough decisions Gulf Coast leaders. The storm is slowly drifting just north of the Mexican coastline and forecasters say it could become a hurricane today.

Heavy rains are falling in Mexico's coastal areas. Mexican officials are worried about the damage and injury that flood waters are causing, but do not yet have full reports from the area.

Olivia has moved very little in the last 12 hours. It had been heading on a track that would take it into Mexico.

Forecasters are saying Olivia could begin to move more rapidly at any time. Mexican officials hope the storm gets going and moves the rain away from their flooded coastal region.

Local leaders in the United States are watching Olivia's track as well--in case the storm turns toward them. Civil defense officials are struggling to decide how far to go in their preparations, as the storm dallies in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

• Offshore oil drilling rigs were not being evacuated Sunday, a U.S. Coast Guard official said.
• In New Orleans, the Orleans Levee Board has closed the 31 flood gates which protect the city, but has held off on public sandbagging efforts.
• Leaders of other coastal cities were watching the storm closely.

At 5:00 a.m., the storm was near 20.9 north latitude, 92.4 west longitude, or about 160 miles west of Merida, Mexico. The storm is moving slowly to the west-northwest. Maximum sustained winds are 65 mph--just under hurricane strength.

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