PICAYUNE — County, city and school district officials are preparing for what could be a hurricane scheduled to make landfall on Tuesday.

Tropical Storm Isaac is churning out in the Gulf of Mexico as a strong tropical storm, but is expected to make landfall along Louisiana or Mississippi Gulf Coast Tuesday as a category 1 hurricane.

All school districts within Pearl River County have announced closures. Pearl River County School District Assistant Nina Gutherie said all schools in that district will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. After the storm passes school officials will assess any damage and determine whether schools will remain closed or reopen Thursday.

A press release from the Picayune School District states all schools in that district will be closed Tuesday, and a decision on whether schools will open Wednesday will be made by Tuesday afternoon.

Poplarville School District will be closed Tuesday and Wendesday. Pearl River Community College will also be closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Picayune City Manager Jim Luke urges residents in the city to prepare for the storm by stocking up on batteries, fuel and to remove debris from around the yard. Removing lose items from the yard will prevent them from becoming projectiles due to the high winds expected as part of this storm.

Garbage collection in Picayune will take place Monday, with Coastal Waste personnel focusing on removing vegetation from the entire city, Luke said. Waste pickup in Picayune will not take place Tuesday or Wednesday.

Picayune Fire Chief Keith Brown said he expects residents within Picayune to begin to see the effects of Tropical Storm Isaac in the form of winds by Tuesday afternoon.

Sand bags will be available in the city and county. City residents can pick up sand bags at Picayune’s City Hall on Beech Street at the Public Works yard after 1 p.m. on Monday, Public Works Director Eric Morris said. Each household will be allotted up to 10 sand bags.

County and Poplarville residents can head to several fire departments to pick up sand bags. Pearl River County Fire Marshal Albert Lee said residents can get up to 15 bags per household at the Poplarville Fire Department, Pine Grove Volunteer Fire Departments on Liberty Road and Pine Grove Road, Derby Volunteer Fire Department, Nicholson Volunteer Fire Department on U.S. 11 and the Carriere Volunteer Fire Department on U.S. 11. Lee said the bags will be available once sand and bags are delivered, hopefully sometime Monday.

Shelters will be available to those who need them. However only two shelters will open initially, Manna Ministries in Picayune in the city’s Industrial Park at 120 Street A Suite A and the Poplarville First Baptist Church in Poplarville. Manna Ministries will open at 10 a.m. Tuesday and the Poplarville Baptist Church is expected to open at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Once those two shelters fill up, then four other shelters on standby will open. They are, in the order they will open as they reach capacity, Picayune First Baptist Church, Poplarville Middle School, South Side Elementary in Picayune and the Baptist Association in McNeill, according to a release from the Pearl River County Emergency Management Agency.

Security at the shelters will be provided by the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department, Brown said.

None of the shelters in this county can cater to residents with special needs. Brown said the closest special needs shelter is in Hinds County. Only those who are on a ventilator or need dialysis treatment will be considered special needs. They can go to the Poplarville Hospital for evaluation, and if deemed a special needs patient, transportation to the Hinds County shelter will occur.

Picayune’s newly opened Highland Community Hospital has made preparations to remain open for at least seven days in the event the storm becomes a major threat, said Lt. Brenda Smith, Highland Community Hospital’s Supervisor of Public Safety.

City and county officials made an emergency declaration Monday morning, and will await declaration of a federal emergency in order to apply for full reimbursement for any expenses incurred due to the storm, Brown said. The state of Mississippi made its emergency declaration on Sunday. City officials will man the Emergency Operations Center beginning Tuesday, which will be continually manned until the event passes. The Pearl River County Emergency Operations Center became active Sunday afternoon.

Brown said he expects an announcement to be made Monday afternoon concerning contra flow along Interstate 59. Governors with Mississippi and Louisiana plan to discuss the matter at 2:45 p.m. Monday. An announcement about their decision will follow.

City residents who would like to report any storm damage are asked to call 311 instead of 911 to keep the emergency lines free.

“There will be someone manning that number continuously,” Morris said of 311.

City workers will focus on debris clean up and other storm related incidents, and resume work on any water or gas leaks at a later time, Morris said.

Police Chief Bryan Dawsey said if a curfew is needed, information about that decision need will be made public at that time. As for patrol, extra officers have been called in and will patrol the city’s streets during this event. Officers will take shelter during the height of the storm, if it strikes the city directly, but resume patrols immediately after the worst has passed, Dawsey said.

Another meeting of city officials will take place at 4 p.m. Monday, updated information will be released after that meeting.