Ala. Gov. Riley says most booms deployed off state coast are faltering under bad weather

Ala. gov.: booms breaking down due to bad weather

MOBILE, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Bob Riley says most of the inflatable booms deployed to catch the oil spill are breaking down, forcing crews to rework their contingency plan.

Riley said Sunday that 80 percent of the thousands of feet of booms the Coast Guard and other crews have laid down off the Alabama coast over the past three days have broken down in the bad weather. He says the other Gulf Coast states are experiencing similar problems.

Riley says luckily the winds are keeping the oil slick off the coastline for now. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration doesn’t predict oil hitting the region from Mississippi to Florida within the next 72 hours.

The Alabama National Guard has been activated to help build barriers on the beaches.