Tropical Storm Nate crashes into US Gulf Coast
TROPICAL Storm Nate moved quickly inland from the US Gulf Coast early yesterday after making landfall twice as a powerful hurricane, triggering widespread flooding and power outages.
After leaving a trail of death and destruction in Central America, the storm hit the southern United States – the third hurricane to hit the region in less than two months as part of an especially active hurricane season.
More than 100,000 people were without power. Ahead of the storm, officials urged residents to evacuate some vulnerable areas before the storm first made landfall on the southeastern tip of Louisiana on Saturday evening and later hit along the Mississippi coast.
At 5am, the storm had top winds of 113 kilometres per hour and was moving north-northeast at 37 kilometres per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Rapid weakening anticipated,” the NHC said as the storm moved further inland over Mississippi and Alabama. It was expected to track further north through today.
It has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.
“This is a life-threatening situation. Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions,” the NHC said.
“The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline.”
Some areas saw storm surge flooding of up to 2.5 metres. The storm was expected to produce rainfall of up to 25.4 centimetres, the NHC said.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey tweeted that she had asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration “to ensure we have all possible resources in place to respond to #HurricaneNate”.
Trump has released federal aid to help mitigate the storm’s impact in Louisiana and Mississippi.
As the storm approached, multiple shelters were opened for evacuees from low-lying areas, and officials urged residents to stock up on several days’ supply of food and water.
Officials said the recent hurricanes actually helped with preparations for Nate, since supplies and assets deployed for the storms were still in place.
When Nate struck Central America on Thursday and Friday, at least 31 people were killed and others are still missing.