69°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

Governor Edwards to address public with Hurricane Delta update Wednesday

2 years 11 months 3 weeks ago Wednesday, October 07 2020 Oct 7, 2020 October 07, 2020 4:32 AM October 07, 2020 in News
Source: Associated Press

BATON ROUGE - On Wednesday morning, Delta, now a Category 2 Hurricane, made landfall on the Yucatan Coast shortly before 6 a.m., and as of 10 a.m. appears poised to leave the area for a northwestern trajectory towards the Gulf Coast.  

According to Good Morning America, people in Cancun and Cozumel, popular tourists spots in the Yucatan Peninsula, prepared for the storm's battering winds and rain on Tuesday.

The area is currently withstanding Delta's damaging rains and winds of 110 mph, according to the National Weather Center, and these conditions are expected to continue until early Thursday. Weather experts say mudslides and flooding are likely to occur.

Ahead of the anticipated disaster, residents were seen waiting in long lines outside of stores, stocking up on hurricane supplies. 

Over 2,000 miles away, residents in Baton Rouge were also making storm preparations as Governor John Bel Edwards declared a State of Emergency for the state of Louisiana ahead of Delta's anticipated arrival.

Governor Edwards announced his decision at a Tuesday afternoon press conference, calling Delta an “incredibly dangerous storm that will bring heavy winds, rain and life threatening flooding and storm surge to coastal Louisiana.” The emergency declaration allows officials quick access to federal aid should it become necessary.

The Governor encouraged south Louisiana residents to closely monitor the weather, heed the advice of local officials, and stock needed supplies in preparation for Delta’s impacts, which may begin as early as Friday.

He based his advice on the National Weather Service, which is confident “that a hurricane is going to strike the state of Louisiana this week.”

Edwards urged locals to avoid focusing on the category of the storm or the center of the projection cone, since the entire state is in that cone and the storm could shift as it heads into the Gulf of Mexico.

Louisiana is still recovering from Hurricane Laura, which hit the area in August. More than 6,600 Laura evacuees remain in hotels around the state, mainly in New Orleans, because their homes are too heavily damaged to return.

State and local officials in coastal areas were shoring up levees, sandbagging and taking other protection measures on Tuesday. Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle called a mandatory evacuation ahead of Delta’s projected path asking campers, recreation vehicles and boats to evacuate Tuesday due to coastal flooding.

When Delta makes landfall in the U.S., it will become the 10th named storm to make landfall in one season.

The Governor is expected to address the public with an update on Delta Wednesday, around 3:30 p.m.

Click here to watch his news conference live or view it on either WBRZ + or WBRZ's Facebook page

To keep up with the latest on Hurricane Delta's expected track, refer to WBRZ's Hurricane Center, which is available here

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days