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Hurricane Delta Live Updates: Category 3 Storm Heads Toward Louisiana Hurricane Delta Live Updates: Category 2 Storm Heads Toward Louisiana
(about 1 hour later)
Louisiana, which has repeatedly been battered by storms this hurricane season, is preparing for yet another: Hurricane Delta, which is expected to bring winds, heavy rain and life-threatening storm surge to portions of the northern Gulf Coast as it makes landfall on Friday evening. Residents of Louisiana’s coastline were warned to shelter in place and prepare for the possibility of tornadoes, 100 mile-per-hour winds and flash flooding as Hurricane Delta barreled toward the area on Friday.
Delta was about 80 miles south of Cameron, La., with sustained winds of 110 miles per hour with higher gusts, according to an advisory at 2 p.m. Eastern from the National Hurricane Center. The storm, which had grown as strong as a Category 4, is expected to weaken after it moves inland. Delta was about 50 miles south of Cameron, La., with sustained winds of 105 miles per hour, according to an advisory at 3 p.m. Central from the National Hurricane Center, and was expected to weaken after it makes landfall on Friday evening.
A storm surge warning was in effect for High Island, Texas, to the mouth of the Pearl River, near New Orleans, while a hurricane warning was issued for High Island, Texas, to Morgan City, La., the center said.A storm surge warning was in effect for High Island, Texas, to the mouth of the Pearl River, near New Orleans, while a hurricane warning was issued for High Island, Texas, to Morgan City, La., the center said.
Delta is forecast to produce as much as 15 inches of rain from southwest into south-central Louisiana through Saturday. Delta is forecast to produce as much as 15 inches of rain from southwest into south-central Louisiana through Saturday. Flash flooding from outer rain bands was already occurring beyond the storm’s immediate path, including the Baton Rouge area, which saw as much as nine inches of rain in some places on Thursday night. The storm has moved quickly, and was expected to be in and out of Louisiana in about 14 hours.
On Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center urged residents to be prepared for the storm’s arrival, noting that tropical storm force winds were soon expected to reach the coast, “making preparations dangerous or impossible to complete.” In a Friday afternoon news conference, Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana said that while he hoped the Lake Charles area — which was badly damaged by Hurricane Laura in August — would escape the worst of the new storm, he warned that hurricane-force winds would almost certainly be felt there. “We know this is going to exacerbate what is already a bad situation,” he said.
A sprawling number of schools and local colleges in southern Louisiana were forced to close as several parishes were placed under either mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders, driving residents from their homes yet again this season. Throughout this hurricane season, Louisiana has been forced to find emergency shelter for large numbers of displaced people while taking into account the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
Preparations for the storm were also underway in Mississippi, where emergency officials have sent 160,000 sandbags to several counties along the Gulf Coast including Harrison, Hancock and Jackson Counties, and 11 shelters were on standby. Mr. Edwards said that there were more than 9,500 Louisianians in shelters as of Friday afternoon, most of them evacuees from the previous storm. But he said that more than 800 evacuees were being housed because of Delta, many of them in a mega-shelter in the central Louisiana city of Alexandria.
On Friday morning, Duke Energy sent more than 300 workers from North Carolina and South Carolina to Louisiana to help respond to power outages. West of Lake Charles on Thursday, videos showed hundreds of cars lining the highway as residents evacuated the area. In Lafayette, La., many were drawing comparisons to Hurricane Laura, which passed through in late August, not just because of its path, but because they were also expecting the storm to be more of a “wind event,” with powerful gusts creating most of the damage, like with Laura.
As Delta moved steadily, and ominously, toward the Louisiana coast Friday morning, residents of Lafayette, the heart of the state’s Acadian culture, were busy with the drudgery of preparing, coming to the aid of their neighbors or fleeing northward. Still, officials said the forecasts could be trusted only so much. “The storm has been very unpredictable in its behavior,” said Mark T. Garber, the Lafayette Parish sheriff. The eastern flank of the storm, which is often called the “dirty side” of the storm as it is typically the most destructive, is projected to scrape over Lafayette, a city of about 126,000 people some 150 miles west of New Orleans.
According to a late-morning advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Delta could cut a northeasterly path once it comes inland, with the eye passing to the west of Lafayette. Into the early afternoon on Friday, even with a downpour of rain, cars were still out on the road and forming a drive-through line that wrapped around Kevin’s Seafood for fried catfish and shrimp. But most other gas stations, stores and restaurants had already shut down, and before long, the traffic largely vanished from many streets.
That would put the city of 120,000 people on the more dangerous right side — sometimes called “the dirty side” of the hurricane. And even though Lafayette Parish has been under voluntary evacuation since midweek, many residents have chosen to ride it out. There were no hotel rooms left in the city, officials said, so people evacuating from other communities in the path of the storm needed to bunk with relatives or friends or travel farther. For those remaining in the city, officials urged them to stay at home.
There was a line out the door Friday morning at Rickey Meche’s Donut King near the center of town. At a Super 1 grocery store along the evacuation route, families walked out with cases of bottled water on Thursday afternoon. Plywood and composite boards were on display near the grocery store entrance, waiting to be nailed over the automatic doors. “We will prepare for the worst here locally,” Joshua S. Guillory, the Lafayette mayor-president, said, “but pray for the best.”
Across the street in a lot next to a city-owned community center, half a dozen people filed into an ad hoc intake center operated by local housing advocates. They signed up with case managers who promised them rides on the midmorning caravan to a mega-shelter in Alexandria, about an hour and a half north along the hurricane evacuation route. In nearby Rayne, a city of about 8,000 people, windows had been boarded up and many had already fueled up their generators, hunkering down ahead of the storm.
Betty Blaine, 57, stooped to coax her two mix-breed terriers — Creek and Angel — to drink from a yellow water bowl. She and her boyfriend, Troy Daigle, Jr., 56, waited for a squat paratransit bus to take them away. But not everything was quiet yet. A woman still went for a run, jogging along a two-lane highway through the heavy rainfall that had already started. Others were clearing out their workshops.
The pair lived together in Lake Charles in a senior living high-rise called the Chateau Du Lac, which was shredded by Hurricane Laura in late August. After decamping to a Marriott in New Orleans, Ms. Blaine and Mr. Daigle packed west to Acadia Parish, between Lafayette and their native Lake Charles, to stay in a friend’s camper. Marcus Carmouche, 30, set out on Friday morning with the hope of finding a generator. He had no luck. Instead, he came to the store with his cousin, who gathered up armfuls of bags of chips.
Unsafe there, they cast their lot with the critical transport caravan and the shelter in Alexandria. He, like others in Rayne, were not all that perturbed. “It isn’t going to do nothing but tear out a few trees and knock power lines down,” he said, noting that the last storm, Hurricane Laura, had left his family without power for about a day.
“With these hurricanes, you don’t know what they going to do,” Mr. Daigle said through a disposable surgical mask. After they ride out the storm, they hope to return to the camper.
They figured it would be another seven to eight months before their apartment in Lake Charles was fixed up and habitable.
In the United States, along a wide swath of the northern Gulf Coast, which was heavily battered by Laura in late August and Sally in September, life is still not back to normal. Those storms had caused extensive property damage and several deaths.In the United States, along a wide swath of the northern Gulf Coast, which was heavily battered by Laura in late August and Sally in September, life is still not back to normal. Those storms had caused extensive property damage and several deaths.
Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the busy 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, could end up strafing Lake Charles, La., a city still recovering from Laura. Videos on social media showed that homes in the city damaged from Hurricane Laura still had not been repaired as Delta approached on Friday.Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the busy 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, could end up strafing Lake Charles, La., a city still recovering from Laura. Videos on social media showed that homes in the city damaged from Hurricane Laura still had not been repaired as Delta approached on Friday.
Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser of Louisiana said on CNN on Friday that Delta was another “blow” for the region after it was battered by Hurricane Laura. There are still about 10,000 people staying in hotels and shelters in the area, Mr. Nungesser said, adding that climate change has undoubtedly affected hurricane season. “They’re stronger, we’re seeing more of them and they’re having a greater impact,” he said.Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser of Louisiana said on CNN on Friday that Delta was another “blow” for the region after it was battered by Hurricane Laura. There are still about 10,000 people staying in hotels and shelters in the area, Mr. Nungesser said, adding that climate change has undoubtedly affected hurricane season. “They’re stronger, we’re seeing more of them and they’re having a greater impact,” he said.
The mayor of Lake Charles, Nic Hunter, told the Weather Channel that there were still many homes in disrepair. “We are a battered city at the moment, recovering from Laura,” he said.The mayor of Lake Charles, Nic Hunter, told the Weather Channel that there were still many homes in disrepair. “We are a battered city at the moment, recovering from Laura,” he said.
Many of the blue tarps that cover damaged homes across the area may soon be whipped away by the wind, said Bryan C. Beam, the administrator of Calcasieu Parish, whose seat is Lake Charles. The debris along the roadsides may turn into flying projectiles. The choked-up drainage canals may overflow, creating new and dangerous flood patterns.Many of the blue tarps that cover damaged homes across the area may soon be whipped away by the wind, said Bryan C. Beam, the administrator of Calcasieu Parish, whose seat is Lake Charles. The debris along the roadsides may turn into flying projectiles. The choked-up drainage canals may overflow, creating new and dangerous flood patterns.
Electricity was finally restored in full last week — but homes could again be plunged into darkness, he said.Electricity was finally restored in full last week — but homes could again be plunged into darkness, he said.
“It’s like a boxer going in the ring a few weeks later after getting pounded,” Mr. Beam said. “You can only take so much in a short period of time. We’re a very resilient people. But it’s very tough right now.”“It’s like a boxer going in the ring a few weeks later after getting pounded,” Mr. Beam said. “You can only take so much in a short period of time. We’re a very resilient people. But it’s very tough right now.”
Hurricane Delta has already hit southeastern Mexico near the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, making landfall there early Wednesday. The storm knocked out power, felled trees, shattered windows, and caused scattered flooding in cities and towns along the Caribbean coast. But regional and federal officials said they had received no reports of deaths.Hurricane Delta has already hit southeastern Mexico near the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, making landfall there early Wednesday. The storm knocked out power, felled trees, shattered windows, and caused scattered flooding in cities and towns along the Caribbean coast. But regional and federal officials said they had received no reports of deaths.
Visitors and residents of the region breathed a sigh of relief that the storm, which had grown to a Category 4 before weakening, had delivered a lesser punch than many there had anticipated.Visitors and residents of the region breathed a sigh of relief that the storm, which had grown to a Category 4 before weakening, had delivered a lesser punch than many there had anticipated.
Last month, meteorologists ran out of names after a storm named Wilfred formed in the Atlantic. Subtropical storm Alpha, the first of the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet, formed quickly thereafter, becoming the 22nd named storm since May.Last month, meteorologists ran out of names after a storm named Wilfred formed in the Atlantic. Subtropical storm Alpha, the first of the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet, formed quickly thereafter, becoming the 22nd named storm since May.
Louisiana has been in the path of six major storms since June, and along with the wildfires in the West, they have brought fresh attention to the effects of climate change, which has likely contributed to the intensity of the storms and the persistence and size of the fires.Louisiana has been in the path of six major storms since June, and along with the wildfires in the West, they have brought fresh attention to the effects of climate change, which has likely contributed to the intensity of the storms and the persistence and size of the fires.
The possibility that the climate crisis may have moved the United States into a troubling new era of incessant catastrophe was discussed, for a few minutes, during Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate, in which Vice President Mike Pence argued that “there are no more hurricanes today than there were 100 years ago.”The possibility that the climate crisis may have moved the United States into a troubling new era of incessant catastrophe was discussed, for a few minutes, during Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate, in which Vice President Mike Pence argued that “there are no more hurricanes today than there were 100 years ago.”
On Thursday, Suzana J. Camargo, a research professor in the division of ocean and climate physics at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said that judging hurricane seasons by the mere number of storms misses the point. Besides the fact that the actual number of storms could not be precisely tallied before the satellite era, “just talking about numbers is a little naïve,” she said, because of the issues of storm intensity, rainfall and surge.On Thursday, Suzana J. Camargo, a research professor in the division of ocean and climate physics at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said that judging hurricane seasons by the mere number of storms misses the point. Besides the fact that the actual number of storms could not be precisely tallied before the satellite era, “just talking about numbers is a little naïve,” she said, because of the issues of storm intensity, rainfall and surge.
Indeed, many scientists say that several aspects of climate change are making storms more destructive. James P. Kossin, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, called the discussion of the number of storms a “red herring” since the trend toward more destructive storms is the more important factor. Climate change may even be reducing the number of weak storms through factors like increased wind shear.Indeed, many scientists say that several aspects of climate change are making storms more destructive. James P. Kossin, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, called the discussion of the number of storms a “red herring” since the trend toward more destructive storms is the more important factor. Climate change may even be reducing the number of weak storms through factors like increased wind shear.
Reporting was contributed by Chelsea Brasted, Richard Fausset, Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, Rick Rojas, John Schwartz and Derrick Bryson Taylor.Reporting was contributed by Chelsea Brasted, Richard Fausset, Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio, Rick Rojas, John Schwartz and Derrick Bryson Taylor.