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| Hurricane Nate heads for Louisiana and Alabama with potential for damage | Hurricane Nate heads for Louisiana and Alabama with potential for damage |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Hurricane Nate sent US Gulf Coast residents scrambling to prepare this weekend, after the storm killed at least 21 people in Central America. | |
| Louisiana’s governor urged his state’s residents to take Nate seriously, saying the storm “has the potential to do a lot of damage”. | Louisiana’s governor urged his state’s residents to take Nate seriously, saying the storm “has the potential to do a lot of damage”. |
| “No one should take this storm lightly,” Governor John Bel Edwards said on Friday. “We do want people to be very, very cautious and to not take this storm for granted.” | |
| On Saturday the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami said the core of the category 1 hurricane was located at 7am CDT about 245 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi river. A hurricane hunter plane found the storm had gained new muscle, with top sustained winds rising to at 85mph with a threat of some additional strengthening. | |
| A hurricane warning was in place from Grand Isle, Louisiana to the Alabama-Florida border and also for metropolitan New Orleans and nearby Lake Pontchartrain. A tropical storm warning extended west of Grand Isle to Morgan City, Louisiana and around Lake Maurepas and east of the Alabama-Florida border to the Okaloosa-Walton County line in the Florida Panhandle. | |
| States of emergency were declared in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as Nate became the latest in a succession of destructive storms this hurricane season. | |
| Edwards, who mobilized 1,300 national guard troops, said forecasts for the fast-moving storm indicated the greatest risks were from winds and storm surge, rather than intense amounts of rain. | |
| That was good news for New Orleans, where the pumping system remains fragile but was working, supervised by 15 national guard troops. Two flash floods this summer led to revelations about personnel and equipment problems at the agency that runs the system that drains the city. Mayor Mitch Landrieu said 109 of the 120 pumps were functioning, which is 92% capacity. | |
| “We are ready for whatever Nate brings our way,” Landrieu said. | “We are ready for whatever Nate brings our way,” Landrieu said. |
| Nate was forecast to dump 3in to 6in of rain on the region, with isolated totals of up to 10in. The storm was expected to strengthen as it moves over the Gulf and make landfall in the US late on Saturday or early on Sunday. A tropical storm watch extended across Alabama and north-east Georgia, including the Atlanta metro area. | |
| In New Orleans on Friday, Millard A Green, a bassist, music teacher and actor, looked philosophically at grocery shelves that had held cases of bottled water. It was 12.30pm and they were empty. | In New Orleans on Friday, Millard A Green, a bassist, music teacher and actor, looked philosophically at grocery shelves that had held cases of bottled water. It was 12.30pm and they were empty. |
| “I thought we were finished with all this hurricane stuff? What you gonna do?” he said. | “I thought we were finished with all this hurricane stuff? What you gonna do?” he said. |
| Governor Edwards encouraged people across south-east Louisiana to hunker down for the storm by 8pm. Landrieu enacted a 7pm Saturday curfew for New Orleans residents. The governor says tropical storm force winds should reach coastal areas of Louisiana by Saturday afternoon, and coastal areas could see storm surge of as much as 7ft. | Governor Edwards encouraged people across south-east Louisiana to hunker down for the storm by 8pm. Landrieu enacted a 7pm Saturday curfew for New Orleans residents. The governor says tropical storm force winds should reach coastal areas of Louisiana by Saturday afternoon, and coastal areas could see storm surge of as much as 7ft. |
| On Dauphin Island – a barrier island south of Mobile, Alabama – owners hauled boats out of the water ahead of the storm’s approach. The major concern was the storm surge was projected to coincide with high tide. | On Dauphin Island – a barrier island south of Mobile, Alabama – owners hauled boats out of the water ahead of the storm’s approach. The major concern was the storm surge was projected to coincide with high tide. |
| “The west end of the island floods in a good thunderstorm,” said Chad Palmer, the owner of FinAtics Inshore Fishing Charters, which operates five boats. | “The west end of the island floods in a good thunderstorm,” said Chad Palmer, the owner of FinAtics Inshore Fishing Charters, which operates five boats. |
| Palmer said the storm, so far, did not seem to be causing much concern on the island that has been battered by monster storms such as Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Katrina, but he was more cautious. | Palmer said the storm, so far, did not seem to be causing much concern on the island that has been battered by monster storms such as Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Katrina, but he was more cautious. |
| “Right now people are talking about hurricane parties … This is my personal non-founded opinion, but this thing has got a whole lot of Gulf to cover before we say it’s going to be a little storm,” Palmer said. | “Right now people are talking about hurricane parties … This is my personal non-founded opinion, but this thing has got a whole lot of Gulf to cover before we say it’s going to be a little storm,” Palmer said. |
| Mississippi governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in six southernmost counties. State officials, at a briefing on Friday in Gulfport, warned that Nate’s main danger in that state will be from up to 10ft of storm surge in low-lying coastal areas, as well as from winds that could damage mobile homes. | Mississippi governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in six southernmost counties. State officials, at a briefing on Friday in Gulfport, warned that Nate’s main danger in that state will be from up to 10ft of storm surge in low-lying coastal areas, as well as from winds that could damage mobile homes. |
| “If you are in an area that has flooded, I would recommend you evacuate that area until the storm has ended and the water has receded for your own personal safety and for the safety of the first responders that will be responding in the event you are trapped,” Bryant said. | “If you are in an area that has flooded, I would recommend you evacuate that area until the storm has ended and the water has receded for your own personal safety and for the safety of the first responders that will be responding in the event you are trapped,” Bryant said. |