Mandatory Evacuations Ordered

Mandatory evacuations have been issued in the following Harris County ZIP codes beginning at noon Thursday:

77058
77059
77062
77520
77546
77571
77586
77598

Those ZIP codes are zones A and B of the county's evacuation plan. It is possible that residents in those areas could be affected by the storm surge.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in the following areas:

Brazoria County - all unincorporated areas, beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday
Chambers County - low-lying areas, beginning 10 a.m. Thursday
Jackson County
Jefferson County
Matagorda County - all areas south of Highway 35 except Bay City and Van Vleck
Orange County
Ashby-Buckeye
Bacliff - beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday
Blessing
Bolivar Peninsula - beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday
Cedar Lane
Chinquapin
Collegeport
El Maton
Freddiesville - beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday
Galveston - entire island
Jamaica Beach - beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday
La Porte
Matagorda
Omega Bay - beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday
Palacious
San Leon - beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday
Sargent
Tidewater Oaks
Tres Palacious Oaks
Wadsworth

Galveston city officials issued a mandatory evacuation for residents on the West End only starting at 7 a.m. Thursday. Shelters will be set up for the residents on Friday at noon, but their locations have not yet been finalized.

Brazoria County has three sites for residents who need to evacuate by bus:

* Residents in the western part of the county should head to the West Columbia Civic Center, 518 E. Brazos Ave.
* Residents in the south and central portions of the county should go to Angleton Middle School, 1001 W. Mulberry St.
*Residents in the north part of the county should go to the Alvin Independent School District's Transportation Center, 2780 W. Highway 6.

The buses will go to Bell County in central Texas.

Voluntary evacuations have been issued in the following area:

* Areas north of Texas 35 in Matagorda County and low-lying areas of Bay City and Van Vleck.
* Brazos Bend and Stephen F. Austin state parks are on standby for a possible evacuation.
* The city of Kingsville.
* Hardin County
* Friendswood

The Lynchburg Ferry is ceasing operations at 1 p.m. and the Bolivar Ferry will stop running at 11 p.m. Thursday.

Locally, Texas A&M University, Blinn College, and schools in the Bryan and College Station Independent School Districts will be closed tomorrow. Rumors that the highschool football games that were rescheduled for tonight have been canceled.