08 October, 2017
As of Friday morning, Tropical Storm Nate is forecast to reach hurricane status before it makes landfall over the weekend. By late Friday, Nate is expected to approach the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula, where a hurricane watch is in effect. Eleven deaths have been reported in Nicaragua, 10 deaths were reported in Costa Rica, and one person was reported killed in Honduras, officials said.
The storm has already unleashed heavy rain and flooding over parts of Central America, where several people have died.
A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for Lafitte, Barataria and Crown Point.
Portions of the Gulf Coast were placed under watches and warnings ahead of the hurricane.
"Reports from Air Force Reserve and NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are now near 50 miles per hour (85 km/h) with higher gusts".
Hurricane warnings were in effect in New Orleans, including Lake Pontchartrain, and from Grand Isle, Louisiana, east to the Alabama-Florida border. System weaknesses - including the failure of some pumps and power-generating turbines - were exposed after an August 5 deluge caused homes and businesses to flood in some sections of the city.
Hurricane officials issued a hurricane warning from Grand Isle, Louisiana eastward through the Alabama-Florida border.
"We don't anticipate that this is going to cause devastating impact to New Orleans or exceed the ability for the pumps or the electrical generation down there to pump out that water", Edwards said.
Trump earlier issued an emergency declaration allowing federal aid to be sent to help mitigate the storm's impact. Our hurricane season typically ends by mid-October as the strong upper level winds that push down cold fronts also shove storms away from Texas.
Waterside sections of New Orleans, outside the city's levee system, were under an evacuation order.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for six counties and any others that might be affected by Nate, the state's emergency management agency said.
States of emergency were declared in Alabama and Louisiana.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said 109 of its 120 pumps are functioning, which is 92% capacity.
In Florida, the Pensacola International Airport planned to cease operations Saturday night and remain closed throughout Sunday, airport officials said.
Tropical Storm Nate is accelerating north toward the Gulf.
