Tropical Storm Cindy takes aim at Gulf Coast
Boy dies in Ala.; La. declares state of emergency as region braces for more
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Wednesday as Tropical Storm Cindy careened through the Gulf of Mexico, drenching the region with heavy rains and flooding. Cindy, which had sustained winds of 50 mph, was forecast to drop up to 15 inches of rain across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and western portions of the Florida Panhandle through Thursday, possibly generating deadly flash floods. In a piece of good news, it appeared New Orleans would be spared the brunt of the storm.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Wednesday as Tropical Storm Cindy roared through the Gulf of Mexico toward the coast, slashing the region with heavy rains and flooding.
A 10-year-old boy died in Alabama, parts of Louisiana had 5 inches of rain by early afternoon and Pensacola, Fla. was slammed by more than 8 inches of rain in 36 hours. And more is on the way.
Cindy, armed with sustained winds of 50 mph, was expected to generate up to 15 inches of rain over southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and parts of the Florida Panhandle through Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service. The storm could produce “life-threatening flash floods along the central Gulf Coast,” the weather service said.
By early Wednesday evening, Cindy was about 135 miles south of Lake Charles, La., and about 125 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, the weather service said.
Cindy was expected to move inland toward southeastern Texas or southwestern Louisiana on Wednesday night or early Thursday, then move near or across eastern Texas, western and northern Louisiana and southeastern Arkansas on Thursday.
Flooding and power outages already were reported early Wednesday. A tropical storm warning was in effect from San Luis Pass, Texas, to the mouth of the Mississippi River.
There was some good news when the weather service lifted the tropical storm warning for metropolitan New Orleans. But Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged residents not to be complacent as parts of the city were hit with five inches of rain by midday.
“Just because we’re not in the cone for this storm doesn’t mean we’re not going to continue to feel the impact from TS #Cindy,” Landrieu tweeted.
Some streets in the city were closed because of flooding, and Landrieu asked residents to clean out catch basins — and not to drive through standing water. Landrieu said the city could expect an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain by midday Friday. And tornadoes also were a possibility.
In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey also declared a statewide emergency over flooding concerns. On Wednesday, a 10-year-old boy died after he was struck by a log that washed up in the storm, Baldwin County Sheriff ’s Capt. Stephen Arthur told the Associated Press.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the State Operations Center to upgrade to “increased readiness.”
At East Hill Hardware & Supply in Pensacola, Fla., Bill Scott shrugged off the rain.
“I was told that there is gonna be storm, but there is only rain which is pretty normal here,” Scott said. “We are used to hurricanes.”