Hurricane Delta Makes Landfall on Louisiana Coast

By Tiziana Celine Oct 09 2020, 21:51 PM EDT

How much is your house worth? It is the question that residents of Louisiana have answered time after time again.

Just weeks after relocating due to Hurricane Laura, the locals are now on the run again. This time, they're evacuating from the fierce of Hurricane Delta.

Delta is currently a Category 2 storm with winds of nearly 100 mph. It is the second hurricane in the last six weeks to hit the state.

On Friday evening, Delta made landfall near Creole, a little over 10 miles from where Laura crashed into the coast in August. While Delta is not that strong, CNN reported the hurricane does have a broader wind field.

Hitting Louisiana

The latest hurricane is supposed to diminish further now that the National Hurricane Center announced it had hit the shore. However, life-threatening alerts of storm surge remain in place.

"A NOAA National Weather Service water level gauge at Freshwater Canal Locks, Louisiana, recently reported storm surge inundation of over 8 feet above ground level," the agency said in its latest statement.

"The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the east of the landfall location (Creole, Louisiana), where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves," it added.

Delta's intensity has sharply fluctuated since it became a Monday storm, with uneven development early on, from 40 mph Monday morning to a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds on Tuesday.

The storm was surprisingly small, considering its early intensity. But as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters, it became more significant.

Delta's core is now forecasting outward hurricane-force winds for up to 40 miles and 160 miles of tropical rain-force winds. Hence, the region faces another possible destruction from the storm and any tornadoes it may create.

Tracking the hurricane's path

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation warnings in areas including Cameron Parish and Calcasieu Parish. According to a press release, West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital in Sulphur started evacuating patients "out of an abundance of caution" on Thursday to medical centers across Baton Rouge and New Orleans, with only a core staff remaining on location.

Edwards said more than 9,500 residents were in shelters ahead of the storm. Many of those citizens evacuated during Laura's time in August, he said.

A hurricane alert for High Island, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana, is in operation. According to the hurricane center, a storm surge alert is in force from High Island to the Pearl River's mouth.

Coast Guard also saved four unharmed persons after a storm surge left them trapped on dunes in Port Mansfield, Texas, on Friday.

According to the monitoring platform poweroutage.us, almost 170,000 consumers were without power in Louisiana and more than 75,000 homes and companies were in the dark in Texas.

Possible tornadoes

According to the hurricane center, local officials warned of the threat of tornadoes that might occur through Friday across areas of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the risk of tornados in areas of Louisiana, New Orleans, and Texas are worrisome.

She told CNN affiliate WDSU the community is "not in in the cone yet." Cantrell added the region continues to experience heavy impacts linked to Hurricane Delta.

In Texas, authorities warned people throughout the coast to brace for harsh conditions, including high winds and localized floods. The state had tools planned this week to be prepared to react, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said the state sent services on Thursday to support neighborhoods and, if necessary, would deploy National Guard services.