Hurricane Delta has knocked out power for more than 500,000 customers in Louisiana as it continues its northeast track out of the state.
595,803 were without power by 7:40 a.m. Saturday, and the number continues to grow this morning.
Delta made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane near Creole, Louisiana around 6 p.m. Friday evening. It brought 100 mile per hour winds and dropped up to 12 inches of rain on a region battered by Hurricane Laura just six weeks ago.
Several locations in the southern and central parts of the state reported flooding by about 1:45 a.m. Saturday as a result of the rain, according to a message from the National Weather Service’s Lake Charles office.
A flood warning remains in effect for the following areas until 1:45 p.m. Saturday:
- Avoyelles Parish
- Evangeline Parish
- Rapides Parish
- St. Landry Parish
- Northern Lafayette Parish
- Northeastern Acadia Parish
- Northeastern Allen Parish
- Eastern Vernon Parish
As of 7 a.m. Saturday Delta had weakened to a tropical storm and was dropping rain on northeast Louisiana and expected to weaken into a tropical depression as it moves into north Mississippi and central Tennessee over the next two days.
The storm is still expected to drop another 2-5 inches of rain on northern Louisiana, southeast Arkansas, and western Mississippi today, with isolated amounts of 10 inches in some places, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Gov. John Bel Edwards is planning to survey the damage to the state by helicopter later today and will brief the media afterward.