Storm spares New Orleans

HURRICANE Nate came ashore on a sparsely populated area at the mouth of the Mississippi River and closed in on Mississippi, pelting the central Gulf Coast region with strong winds and heavy rains.

Nate was forecast yesterday to make its second landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, and threatened to inundate homes and businesses.

The centre of the storm passed to the east of New Orleans, sparing the city its most ferocious winds and storm surge. And its quick speed lessened the likelihood of prolonged rain that would tax the city’s drainage pump system.