Two brown pelicans and a flock of seagulls rest on the shore of Ship Island as a boom line floats just offshore Thursday, April 29, 2010 in Gulfport, Miss. Several hundred yards of boom line has been set up on the north side of the island to try and contain the oncoming oil spill. Crews are placing the boom in different areas on Coast waterways to help protect against an approaching oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. AP Photo / The Sun Herald, William Colgin via boston.com

By MELISSA NELSON (AP) 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.

Ala. gov.: booms breaking down due to bad weather Kelly Maynard of Picayune surveys boom material washed up on the beach in downtown Bay St. Louis on Sunday. Maynard came to the Coast to fish, but was having second thoughts after hearing of many dead fish along the beach between Bay St. Louis and Waveland. Several thousand feet of boom has been deployed as the Mississippi Gulf Coast prepares for the effects of a massive oil slick coming from a leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico. JAMES EDWARD BATES / Sun Herald

By ANITA LEE – calee@sunherald.com BAY ST. LOUIS — Resident Dave Depreo reports booms have broken apart across the mouth of the Bay of St. Louis. They were placed from Bay St. Louis shores in Hancock County to Henderson Point in Pass Christian to protect the bay and its estuaries, including the Wolf and Jourdan Rivers. “They broke apart and are doing absolutely no good,” said Depreo, who watched the rough surf on the shoreline in downtown Bay St. Louis. “Some of the booms are laying right here on the beach.”

Booms across St. Louis bay break apart