Tourists walk on the beach as the tail end of Hurricane Zeta makes landfall in Playa del Carmen, Mexico,
Tourists walk on the beach as the tail end of Hurricane Zeta makes landfall in Playa del Carmen, Mexico,
Residents of the storm-pummeled Gulf Coast steeled themselves on Tuesday for yet another tropical weather strike as Tropical Storm Zeta took aim at southeast Louisiana, fraying the nerves of evacuees from earlier storms and raising concerns in New Orleans about the low-lying city's antiquated drainage pump system.
Zeta, the 27th named storm of a very busy Atlantic hurricane season, was a hurricane when it began raking across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula early Tuesday. It emerged in the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical storm but was expected to regain hurricane strength before landfall south of New Orleans on Wednesday evening.
Already this year, Louisiana has been hit by two tropical storms and two hurricanes: Laura, blamed for at least 27 Louisiana deaths after it struck in August, and Delta, which exacerbated Laura's damage in the same area weeks later. New Orleans has been in the warning area for potential tropical cyclones seven times this year but has seen them veer to the east or west.
A billboard lays on the ground, toppled by Hurricane Zeta in Playa del Carmen. Photo / AP
"I don't think we're going to be as lucky with this one," city emergency director Colin Arnold said at a news conference with Mayor LaToya Cantrell. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said Tuesday he asked President Donald Trump to issue a disaster declaration ahead of the storm.
One worry among New Orleans officials: a turbine that powers the city's street drainage pumps broke down Sunday, according to officials of the agency that runs the system. There was enough power to keep the pumps operating if needed, but it left authorities with little excess power to tap should a breakdown of other turbines occur.
Palm trees are buffeted by the winds of Hurricane Zeta in Playa del Carmen. Photo / AP
Officials said they were running through contingencies to provide power and make repairs where needed should there be other equipment problems. Forecasts, meanwhile, called for anywhere from 5 to 15cm of rain to fall in the New Orleans area. Officials noted that Zeta is expected to be a relatively fast-moving storm, minimising the flood threat.
Zeta had sustained winds of 105km/h winds and was centered 720km south of the Mississippi River's mouth Tuesday afternoon. Its approach toward New Orleans meant more worries for evacuees left homeless by Laura who are sheltered in hotels. The state is sheltering about 3600 Laura and Delta evacuees, most of them in New Orleans area hotels.
Tourists walk past debris littering the street after Hurricane Zeta's landfall in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Photo / AP
"It really is scary, and I don't know what to do," said Yolanda Lockett, who evacuated her Lake Charles apartment — now a rain-soaked, mouldy mess — ahead of Laura at the end of August. "I'm physically and mentally tired," she said, standing outside a New Orleans hotel.
A hurricane warning stretched from the central Louisiana coast to the Alabama state line. Edwards and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey both declared emergencies ahead of the storm.
And commercial fishermen began a familiar hurricane preparation ritual.
"We're getting pretty good at it for doing it five times this season so far," said Robert Campo as he readied his marina at Shell Beach for the storm. The routine includes removing gas pumps used to fuel boats, loading frozen bait on to old school buses that have been converted into mobile freezer units and tying down rubbish bins to keep them from floating off.
"The downfall of it is, when ... we're down for four or five days, that's four or five days nobody's fishing. That's four or five days nobody is shrimping. That's four or five days, no economic wheels are turning."
On Dauphin Island, off the Alabama coast, workers at Dauphin Island Marina prepared for Zeta on Tuesday even though little remained of the business to protect after it was pummeled by Sally in September.
A man walks his dogs past fallen trees after Hurricane Zeta's landfall in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Photo / AP
"Right now we're packing stuff up just to be safe," said marina employee Jess Dwaileebe. "We don't have any docks or fuel pumps at this point. Sally took it all out."
In Waveland, Mississippi, hardware store operator David Hubbard didn't see the usual rush of people buying storm supplies. Most have what they need because Zeta is only the latest threat, he said.
Officials in two Mexican states hit by Zeta reported power outages and damage caused by downed trees, but no deaths. The storm left sand blocking the boulevard through Cancun's hotel strip. Pounding surf destroyed many turtle nests on Playa Ballenas, leaving eggs scattered along the beach.
Zeta broke the record for the previous earliest 27th Atlantic named storm that formed in November 29, 2005. It's also the 11th hurricane of the season. An average season sees six hurricanes and 12 named storms.
Clouds gather over Playa Gaviota Azul as Tropical Storm Zeta approaches Cancun. Photo / AP
There have been so many storms this season that the hurricane centre had to turn to the Greek alphabet after running out of assigned names.
The extraordinarily busy hurricane season has focused attention on the role of climate change, which scientists say is causing wetter, stronger and more destructive storms.
A worker cleans fallen branches after Hurricane Zeta passed through Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Photo / AP
