An abandoned boat takes on water on the Mississippi Gulf Coast near Biloxi as outer bands of Hurricane Nate batter the shore. Photo / AP
Hurricane Nate, after rushing north at a record clip and raking the US Gulf Coast with light winds and heavy rains, made landfall at the mouth of the Mississippi River, in the latest of a series of deadly storms this season.
Officials repeatedly warned residents to take the storm seriously,
in a repeat of a drill that caused thousands of evacuations from Louisiana in August. Nate had maximum wind speeds of 145km/h and threats of storm surge up to 3.3m. Mandatory evacuations were put in place for parts of New Orleans, and communities across Mississippi and Alabama opened shelters for residents.
Nate has already been blamed for 25 deaths in Central America as it swept through the Gulf of Mexico last week.
It is the ninth hurricane to form in the Atlantic this season, which is the highest total since the infamous 2012 season that featured Hurricane Sandy.
In New Orleans, longtime residents, especially those who had survived Katrina in 2005, seemed to be listening, stocking up on water, food and fuel. But the streets in the French Quarter were full of tourists.
