A hurricane warning was in effect for the New Orleans area.
New Orleans:
Hurricane Zeta hit the southern United States on Wednesday as a Category 2 storm, bringing dangerous winds and ocean waves to Louisiana, which was repeatedly struck during a busy hurricane season.
Zeta, packing sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour, strengthened and settled Wednesday afternoon near Cocodrie, in a remote area of southeast Louisiana.
He was to sweep the New Orleans area before moving along the Mississippi coast.
The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning that covered New Orleans, and said a life-threatening storm surge and high winds (are) expected along parts of the north coast from the Gulf of Mexico.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said “this is not an exercise,” warning that the hurricane was expected to soon “have a direct impact on the city of New Orleans.”
Authorities had urged residents to evacuate vulnerable areas or stock up on emergency food, water and medicine for at least three days.
Some coastal areas were subject to a mandatory evacuation order, but not New Orleans and its suburbs.
Zeta struck with just six days to go on election day, although that shouldn’t affect the result as early voting in Louisiana has already ended.
Deserted french quarter
As the rains and winds began before the storm arrived, New Orleans residents rushed to prepare, putting up windows, moving vehicles and boats to higher ground and, in some cases, by stacking sandbags to guard against potential flooding.
Hurricane is the fifth major storm to hit Louisiana this year.
The New Orleans area has had to be on guard on several occasions, although it has been spared so far this year, with the bulk of previous storms hitting towns like Lake Charles, about 200 miles away. west, near the Texas border.
This time around, local authorities have urgently warned not to be complacent, especially given the risk of dangerous winds and the damage and power outages that could accompany them.
The flooding seemed less threatening this time around for the low-lying town – 80% of which was flooded in Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – because the storm was moving so quickly at around 20 miles per hour.
Nonetheless, the area’s gates were closed, and pump operators who may have trouble keeping water from rising to the streets of New Orleans during a typical heavy rain were ready.
Annie Quattlebaum, a 39-year-old biologist, and a group of friends visiting New Orleans from Denver were stranded when the storm canceled their flight.
They were roaming the city’s iconic French Quarter, much of it deserted on Wednesday afternoon, looking for an open store to purchase drinks and food as they prepared to rest in their hotel for the night. .
“Friends who know this area well and know the weather have told us to grab some snacks and charge your phone,” Quattlebaum said wearing a mask.
“We’re not going to do anything stupid. We’re just going to curl up while this happens.”
‘These poor guys’
Along the shores of Lake Catherine in the far northeast of town, where many locals have weekend homes and commercial fishermen operate, boats lined up along the elevated terrain of the roads.
At Island Marina, 60-year-old Geoff Wallace obtained lumber and other materials that he used for a construction project to keep it from blowing up and becoming missiles.
“These people who live here, it’s just a part of life here,” he said, gray skies shading the swamp and a shrimp boat behind him.
“These poor guys,” he said of the marina owners, “they’ve had to go through four or five times this year. It’s getting tiring.”
New Orleans remains traumatized by Hurricane Katrina, which inundated 80% of the city and killed more than 1,800 people 15 years ago.
Hurricane defenses have improved significantly since then, but have yet to be fully tested in the New Orleans area.
Zeta had strengthened into a Category 2 storm on a five level scale before it landed.
The hurricane brought strong winds and heavy rain to Mexico’s Caribbean coast on Tuesday after making landfall near the resort town of Tulum.
This is the 27th storm of an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season.
In September, meteorologists were forced to use the Greek alphabet to name Atlantic storms for only the second time, after the 2020 hurricane season surpassed their usual list, ending with Tropical Storm Wilfred.
Scientists say there will likely be an increase in powerful storms as the ocean surface warms due to climate change.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
