Oct. 8 (UPI) — Hurricane Nate made landfall in southern Mississippi, leaving at least 80,000 residents in multiple Gulf states without power, officials said.
The Category 1 hurricane made landfall late Saturday and again early Sunday with 85 mph winds and a 6-foot storm surge. Nate later weakened to a tropical storm.
The storm brought flooding to several parts of the I-90 interstate and the Biloxi area by 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Officials recorded storm surges of 6.3 feet in Pascagoula, Miss., and water levels reached 5.4 feet above normal tides at the Mobile, Ala., Coast Guard station.
There were no reports of casualties, though at least 22 people died when Nate pass through the Yucatan Peninsula.
Several of the area’as power companies reported massive power outages.
The hurricane weakened quickly after it made landfall, although winds capable of downing trees were expected to accompany heavy rain as it passes through the Southeast. It is expected to diminish as it approaches the Tennessee Valley and then turns northeastward, although rain and possible flash flooding were expected as it passes Monday through the Ohio Valley and the northeastern states. The storm was expected to degenerate to a remnant low Monday.
States of emergency were declared in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. President Donald Trump approved emergency declarations in Alabama and Florida.
Biloxi’s gambling casinos closed early on Saturday. The port of Mobile also was closed.
Dauphin Island, Ala., Mayor Jeff Collier said homes and cars were flooded on the island, which was stranded because of a 6-foot storm surge. Beaches along the Gulf Coast sustained the majority of the damage.
There were no reports so far of Nate causing injuries or major damage to homes in the city, Biloxi’s public affairs manager, Vincent Creel said.
“We were well aware that this could’ve been a much more serious storm. There was talk of it being a Category 2 with an 11-feet tidal surge when it came ashore. It did not — happily — it did not live up to that billing,” Creel told CNN.
