Storm Gordon batters US Gulf Coast

NEW YORK: Waves began to batter parts of the US Gulf Coast on Tuesday as the region felt the first effects of Tropical Storm Gordon, which is expected to become a hurricane before it comes ashore with high winds and heavy rain, forecasters said.

The storm also caused a jump in global oil prices after the evacuation of two oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gordon was due to come ashore late on Tuesday near the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, and drop as much as 12 inches of rain in areas still recovering from last year’s hurricanes, the National Hurricane Centre said.

Currently carrying winds of around 105 km per hour), the storm was expected to pack hurricane-force winds — of at least 74 mph (119 kph) — when it reached the Gulf Coast, the centre said.

Beaches around Mobile, Alabama, were seeing storm-driven waves on Tuesday morning, said Stephen Miller, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

“We’re expecting an increase in winds,” Miller said in a phone interview. “We could see flooding.”

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency, as did New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.

Storm surge — sea levels driven higher — of as much as 5 feet (1.5 m) could hit a stretch of coast from Shell Beach, Louisiana, to Dauphin Island, Alabama, forecasters said. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency told South Mississippi residents to be prepared to evacuate.

As of Tuesday morning, Gordon was located about 305 km eastsoutheast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and was heading west-northwest, the Miami-based hurricane centre said.

US oil producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp evacuated workers and shut production at two offshore oil platforms on Monday, and other companies with production and refining operations along the Gulf Coast said they were securing facilities. The Gulf of Mexico is home to 17 per cent of US crude oil and 5 per cent of natural gas output daily, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The US Coast Guard said the ports of New Orleans as well as Gulfport and Pascagoula, Mississippi, may have to close within 48 hours.

Last year, powerful hurricanes hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, causing thousands of deaths, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of damage and massive power outages.

Gordon, which was not forecast to be a major hurricane, was expected to weaken rapidly after moving ashore, the hurricane centre said.

The Inn at Ocean Springs and The Roost Hotel in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, had guests planning to ride out the storm, said Kristin Smith, the general manager of both hotels.

“A lot of guests are real comfortable sticking it out in our rooms,” Smith said in a phone interview. “Any of our guests who feel like they want to go home we encourage them to follow their instincts.”

We’re expecting an increase in winds. We could see flooding STEPHEN MILLER A meteorologist