Yahoo Finance Louisiana declares state of emergency as Gulf Coast braces for tropical storms
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency ahead of a tropical storm that could bring heavy rain and flooding to the Gulf Coast – just weeks into hurricane season.
The state of emergency, which was declared late on Thursday, will allow Louisiana to access resources to aid in storm response efforts.
A tropical storm warning was in effect in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida – with weather expected to hit the states as early as Friday and then continuing into the weekend.
“According to the National Weather Service (NWS), rainfall will be the biggest threat,” Mr Edwards said in a statement. “In addition to heavy rains, there is also a threat of coastal flooding, tropical storm force winds and isolated tornadoes.”
“Everybody has to be ready,” he added when speaking at a press conference on Thursday.
The National Weather Service said that the New Orleans area could receive eight inches of rain and experience 30mph winds. Other parts of southern Louisiana were also at risk.
Here is the latest update to the track from @NHC_Atlantic Heavy rainfall is still the main threat, expect deteriorating conditions as the heavy rainfall moves onshore this afternoon and evening. #mswx #lawx pic.twitter.com/an5dpkHnTe
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) June 18, 2021
Southern Louisiana was hit with two hurricanes last year within weeks for each other. Hurricane Laura, a Category 4, made landfall in August and then Hurricane Delta, a Category 2, hit the state six weeks later.
Now Louisiana was bracing for another hurricane season, which runs 1 June to 30 November.
“Here we are, already in the next hurricane season, and we’re not through the first month, and we’re already talking about a storm that, as we speak, is somewhere in the Gulf, just due south of Lake Charles,” Mr Edwards said.
In 2020, the United States experienced an unprecedented hurricane season with 30 named storms in the Atlantic Basin, the White House said. Communities across the country also experienced losses of more than $1 billion due to climate-related disasters.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) revealed on 20 May in its 2021 Atlantic hurricane season outlook that another above-normal hurricane season was expected this year.
In the report, forecasters predicted a 60 per cent chance of an above-normal season and a 30 per cent chance of a near-normal season. There was only a 10 per cent chance of a below normal-season, the forecasters said.
Additionally, it was anticipated that there could be 13 to 20 named storms during hurricane season, with six to 10 of them likely to become hurricanes. This has caused concern of how the storms could impact the communities hit by these storms.
President Joe Biden announced in May that his administration was doubling funding to address extreme weather amid news of another above-normal hurricane season.
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