Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen called for an evacuation of hundreds of workers and vessels at the Deepwater Horizon blowout site in the Gulf of Mexico late Thursday night, The Washington Post reported today.
BP will halt its work on drilling a relief well for more than a week while Tropical Storm Bonnie makes her way to shore. The National Weather service has issued a tropical storm watch from Destin, Fla. to Morgan City, La.
"Due to the risk that Tropical Storm Bonnie poses to the safety of the nearly 2,000 people responding to the BP oil spill at the well site, many of the vessels and rigs will be preparing to move out of harm's way beginning tonight," Allen said in a statement Thursday. "This includes the rig drilling the relief well that will ultimately kill the well, as well as other vessels needed for containment. Some of the vessels may be able to remain on site, but we will err on the side of safety."
Allen said that the containment cap BP placed on the well last week is secure enough to ride out the storm.
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