US: Hurricane Delta to Rip Thru Louisiana and Northern States

Less than two months after Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, ripped through Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, is expected to worsen and hit Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Indiana.

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The hurricane watch was issued for parts of the coast from High Island, Texas, eastward to Grand Isle, Louisiana, and a storm surge watch is in effect from High Island to the Alabama-Florida border, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In Yucatan, Hurricane Delta toppled trees, ripped roofs and plunged-down power lines in the getaway Cancun.

Beachside roads were inundated, skiffs and other small boats overturned in a marina, while roof tiles and broken glass riddled sidewalks in what looked like a ghost-town early on Wednesday, with 39,000 residents and tourists hidden in shelters before winds waned.

“Life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds increasingly likely along portions of the northern Gulf Coast beginning Friday,” said the Centre.

 

Delta’s predicted trajectory looks grimly similar to that of Hurricane Laura, which made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 storm on August 27, leaving 15 people dead, hundreds of thousands without power and destroying more than 10,000 homes.

“We are still reeling from Hurricane Laura. Much progress has been made since Laura, but there are still many people going through pain and struggle,” said Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter.

In advance of Hurricane Delta, evacuation orders and curfews have been issued for several areas near the Louisiana coast.

President Trump — who is working from the Oval Office as he continues to recover from coronavirus — tweeted that he has been briefed on Hurricane Delta ahead of its landfall on the US later this week.

“Please be prepared, be careful, and be safe!” tweeted President Trump.

Was just briefed on Hurricane Delta, and spoke with @GovAbbott of Texas and @LouisianaGov John Bel Edwards. Please heed the directions of your State and Local Officials. We are working with them very closely — please be prepared, be careful, and be safe! https://t.co/hi01bnNV6M

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020

2020 has tied with 2011 and 2017 for the most billion-dollar damage events in the US. As of October 7, there have been 16 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding one billion each to affect the United States— hurricanes Laura, Sally and Isaisis.  

2011 and 2017 engendered US $16 billion-dollar damages. But Hurricane Delta could possibly engender enough damage to catapult 2020 to top of the list for the most billion-dollar disasters in a single year. 

“Since 2020 looks to be the most hurricane landfalls the US has seen since 2005, it is no surprise we are on the cusp of setting a record for billion-dollar weather disasters,” said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.