Based on the latest projected path of Hurricane Ivan, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated today that more than 6.1 million people in the Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana coastal areas could be affected by the massive storm.

     This population comprises residents in the hurricane warning area that stretches along the Gulf Coast from Grand Isle, La. (south of New Orleans), to Apalachicola, Fla. (southwest of Tallahassee). Demographic profiles for the areas that could be affected (seasonal tourists are not included) are available on the Census Bureau’s Website at <http://censtats.census.gov/pub/Profiles.shtml>.

     Hurricane Ivan is the fifth hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic season, but the first to threaten states other than Florida that border the Gulf of Mexico. According to the National Hurricane Center at 4:00 p.m. CDT, Ivan packed maximum sustained winds of about 140 MPH, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane. Hurricane-force winds extend 105 miles from the center of the storm, with tropical storm-force winds extending outward 260 miles.

Note: The above calculations are based on projections of the storm’s path from the National Hurricane Center, a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service, Census 2000 counts contained in LandView 6, a mapping software program, and Census Bureau population estimates as of July 1, 2003. These data do not present a full picture of the seasonal population increases of coastal or other tourist areas.