Nate’s remnants drench the Northeast

Most electrical service is restored in the Southeast.

BILOXI, MISS. — Remnants of Hurricane Nate buffeted the Northeast with wind and rain Monday while power crews restored most electrical service on the Gulf Coast and an overdue cruise ship delayed by the storm finally headed into port.

With the center of the tropical depression situated near the eastern shore of Lake Erie, forecasters said parts of Pennsylvania and New York could receive 2 inches of rain or more. Police in Amherst, New York, shared photos of water covering some roads.

Meanwhile, in the Southeast, utilities said crews had restored electrical service to all but a few thousand of the more than 100,000 homes and businesses that lost power because of Nate in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida.

Stuck in the Gulf of Mexico for two days because of Nate, the Carnival Fantasy began moving toward its berth after the Coast Guard reopened the port of Mobile, Alabama. The ship originally was to dock Saturday after a five-day trip; it was due in at 4 p.m. Monday.

The ship had a total guest capacity of 2,056 people and carried a crew of 920.

At Dauphin Island, Alabama, Mayor Jeff Collier said workers were using heavy equipment to remove as much as 6 feet of sand that washed across a more than 3-mile stretch of the island’s main road and more than 20 side streets.

“It moved the beachfront onto the roadway,” Collier said. Also on the Alabama coast, workers were fixing a more than 1,500-foot-long fishing pier that was damaged by Nate.

Mississippi’s worst damage was in coastal Jackson County, where Emergency Manager Earl Etheridge said officials have received reports of about 200 damaged buildings.

Some had flooding from storm surge, he said, but most had roof damage from high winds.

County and state officials also are investigating barrels and large containers that washed ashore and may be holding hazardous chemicals, he said.