Gulf Coast storm makes landfall; one killed

NEW ORLEANS: Tropical Storm Gordon weakened after making landfall just west of the AlabamaMississippi border and lashing the US Gulf Coast with high winds and heavy rain late last night, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.

Gordon is about 30km northwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and was packing winds of 65kmh it said.

The storm, which was expected to weaken to a tropical depression later today, would likely move across the lower Mississippi Valley through the day, the NHC said.

Flash flood warnings and watches were in effect for inland areas while all coastal watches and warnings associated with Gordon were discontinued, the NHC said.

A child was killed yesterday when a tree fell on a mobile home in Pensacola, Florida, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said.

Governors in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama declared a state of emergency while companies cut 9% of US Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production.

Tropicalstorm force winds were lashing the Alabama and western Florida panhandle coastlines and some areas still recovering from last year’s storms could get 30cm of rain.

More than 35,000 homes and businesses in Alabama and Mississippi were without electricity late last night, Poweroutages.us reported.

Sea levels could rise as much as 1.5m from Shell Beach, Louisiana, to Dauphin Island, Alabama, forecasters said.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency told South Mississippi residents to be prepared to evacuate.

At LaFrance Marina near Ansley, Mississippi, owner Sue Cates said a tidal surge was sure to push water into the marina’s lowlying campgrounds, making evacuation ‘‘the only choice’’ people had to protect themselves.

Nevertheless, she said she and her husband would remain in their home, which sits on tall pilings, more than 5m above ground. Built after Hurricane Katrina, the home was made to withstand a 240kmh wind, she said.

‘‘We’re way up here, and I think we’ll be OK,’’ Cates said. ‘‘People around here are well trained for this sort of thing.’’

US oil producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp evacuated workers and shut production at two offshore platforms on Tuesday, and other companies with production and refining operations along the Gulf Coast said they were securing their facilities.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to 17% of US crude oil and 5% of natural gas output daily, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The US Coast Guard said the ports of New Orleans and Gulfport and Pascagoula, Mississippi, might have to close.

Last year, hurricanes hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, causing widespread destruction and thousands of deaths.— Reuters

Fire investigators appeal to public

MELBOURNE: People with footage of a large factory fire in Melbourne’s inner west have been urged to contact police, amid an arson investigation.

The Tottenham factory was filled with aerosol cans and 44gallon drums of oil, grease and acetone residues, which went up in flames early last Thursday.

It spewed toxic smoke over the city and polluted waterways and continued to smoulder yesterday.

Arson and explosives detectives have taken over the fire investigation. — AAP