En travl orkansæson i 2020 har Louisiana for 6. gang

Bernie Arnould, centrum, får hjælp af Kaden Ashley og D.J. Hebert, venstre, alle sammen med Pelican Companies, mens de går op ad vinduerne foran MC Bank i Amelia, La., Onsdag, Okt., 7, 2020, i Forberedelse til orkanen Delta. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

For sjette gang i den atlantiske orkansæson, folk i Louisiana flygter endnu en gang fra statens barriereøer og sejlbåde til sikker havn, mens nødembedsmænd skruer op for kommandocentre og overvejer at bestille evakuering.

Stormen, der blev observeret onsdag, var orkanen Delta, den 25. navngivne storm i Atlanterhavets hidtil usete orkansæson. Prognoser placerede det meste af Louisiana inden for Deltas vej, med det seneste National Hurricane Center, der estimerer landfald i staten fredag.

Centrets prognosemænd advarede om vinde, der kunne vinde et godt stykke over 100 mph (160 km/t) og op til 11 fod (3,4 meter) havvand, der potentielt suser på land, når stormens centrum rammer land.

"Denne sæson har været ubarmhjertig, Louisianas guvernør John Bel Edwards sagde, støver sit nu almindelige refrein af 2020 - "Forbered dig på det værste. Bed for det bedste."

Der er udstedt et orkanvarsel for en strækning af den nordlige amerikanske golfkyst. National Hurricane Center i Miami sagde, at Delta forventes at blive en stor orkan igen, som det var dage tidligere, før de krydsede en del af Mexicos Yucatan-halvø. Men en vis svækkelse er forudsagt, når Delta nærmer sig den nordlige Golfkyst på fredag.

Indtil nu, Louisiana har set både store strejker og næsten uheld. Det sydvestlige område af staten omkring Lake Charles, hvilke prognoser viser, er på Deltas nuværende bane, er stadig ved at komme sig efter et landfald den 27. august af kategori 4 orkanen Laura.

Denne onsdag, 7. oktober kl. 2020-satellitbillede gjort tilgængeligt af National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration viser orkandeltaet i den Mexicanske Golf kl. 10:41 EDT. Delta kom onsdag i land lige syd for det mexicanske feriested Cancun som en ekstremt farlig kategori 2-storm. (NOAA via AP)

Næsten seks uger senere, nogle 5, 600 mennesker forbliver på hoteller i New Orleans, fordi deres hjem er for beskadiget til at kunne bebos. Træer, tage og andet affald, der er tilbage i Lauras kølvand, sidder stadig ved vejkanter i Lake Charles-området og venter på afhentning, selvom prognosemænd advarede om, at Delta kunne være en større end gennemsnittet storm.

New Orleans brugte et par dage i sidste måned på at forberede orkanen Sally, før den gik mod øst, går i land i Alabama den 16. september.

Delta forventes at styrke sig tilbage til en kategori 3-storm efter at have ramt den mexicanske Yucatan-halvø onsdag, svækkes derefter lidt, når det nærmer sig Louisiana. National Hurricane Center-prognosen forventede, at stormen vil komme i land i et tyndt befolket område mellem Cameron og Vermilion Bay.

Edwards sagde, at præsident Donald Trump har indvilliget i at underskrive en føderal nøderklæring på forhånd for staten. Den demokratiske guvernør sagde, at han ikke forventer omfattende obligatoriske evakueringer.

fylde sandsække for at beskytte deres hjem i forventning om orkanen Delta, forventes at ankomme langs Gulf Coast senere på ugen, i Houma, La., Onsdag, 7. okt. 2020. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Men Edwards sagde onsdag, at Delta bevæger sig hurtigt, så orkanstyrkevinde kunne nå langt inde i landet, og forventet kraftig regn kan forårsage oversvømmelser.

Krydsfiner, batterier og reb fløj allerede fra hylderne i Tiger Island isenkræmmerforretningen i Morgan City, Louisiana, som ville være tæt på midten af stormens vej.

"De andre generede mig ikke, men denne ser ud som om vi er målet, Kunde Terry Guarisco sagde, da en butiksmedarbejder hjalp ham med at læsse sin lastbil med krydsfiner, der var nødvendig for at stige i hans hjem.

I svovl, på tværs af Calcasieu-floden fra Lake Charles, Ben Reynolds besluttede, om han skulle forlade eller blive. Han måtte bruge en generator til strøm i en uge efter orkanen Laura.

"Det er deprimerende, " sagde Reynolds. "Det er skræmmende som fanden."

Ved solnedgang onsdag d. Acy Cooper planlagde at få sine tre rejebåde låst ned og gemt i en Louisiana bayou for tredje gang i denne sæson.

Hvalpe venter på transport til Berkshire Humane Society efter et fly fyldt med et par dusin hvalpe ankom til Pittsfield Municipal Airport i Pittsfield, Masse., Onsdag, 7. okt. 2020, fra mobil, Ala., foran Tropical Storm Delta for at give plads i de shelters, der er ramt af stormen. Nogle af hundene vil gå til Berkshire Humane Society, og andre vil gå til Montgomery SPCA i New York. Når først er lægegodkendt, hundene vil være tilgængelige for adoption til godkendte hjem. (Ben Garver/The Berkshire Eagle via AP)

"Vi tjener ingen penge, " sagde Cooper. "Hver gang der kommer en, ender vi med at tabe en uge eller to."

Lynn Nguyen, der arbejder på TLC Seafood Market i Abbeville, sagde hver stormtrussel tvinger fiskeren til at bruge dage på at trække hundredvis af krabbefælder fra vandet eller risikere at miste dem.

"Det har været et hårdt år. I det øjeblik du får dine fælder ud og fisker, det er tid til at trække dem ud igen, fordi der er noget ved at brygge derude, " sagde Nguyen.

Et andet sted i Abbeville, Onsdag bragte endnu en omgang boarding og planlægning, sagde Vermilion Chamber of Commerce administrerende direktør Lynn Guillory.

"Jeg tror, at stress ikke kun er stresset fra stormen i år, it's everything – one thing after another, " Guillory said. "Somebody just told me, 'You know, we've really had enough.'"

On Grand Isle, the Starfish restaurant planned to stay open until it ran out of food Wednesday. Restaurant employee Nicole Fantiny then planned to join the rush of people leaving the barrier island, where the COVID-19 pandemic already devastated the tourism industry.

A plane full of a few dozen puppies arrives at Pittsfield Municipal Airport in Pittsfield, Masse., WEdnesday, Oct. 7, 2020, from Mobile, Ala., ahead of Tropical Storm Delta to make room in the shelters affected by the storm. Some of the dogs will go to the Berkshire Humane Society and others will go to the Montgomery SPCA in New York state. Once medically cleared, the dogs will be available for adoption to approved homes. (Ben Garver/The Berkshire Eagle via AP)

"The epidemic, the coronavirus, put a lot of people out of work. Nu, having to leave once a month for these storms—it's been taking a lot, " said Fantiny. She tried to quit smoking two weeks ago but gave in and bought a pack of cigarettes Tuesday as Delta strengthened.

While New Orleans has been mostly spared by the weather and found itself outside Delta's cone Wednesday, constant vigilance and months as a COVID-19 hot spot have strained a vulnerable city still scarred by memories of 2005's Hurricane Katrina. Delta's shifting forecast track likely meant no need for a major evacuation, but the city's emergency officials were on alert.

"We've had five near misses. We need to watch this one very, very closely, " New Orleans Emergency Director Collin Arnold said.

Along with getting hit by Hurricane Laura and escaping Hurricane Sally, Louisiana saw heavy flooding June 7 from Tropical Storm Cristobal. Tropical Storm Beta prompted tropical storm warnings in mid-September as it slowly crawled up the northeast Texas coast.

Terrebonne Parish employee Raul Estrada stabilizes the rock wall with cement on Island Road in Isle de Jean Charles, La., ahead of Hurricane Delta Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. Delta could make landfall, possibly as a Category 3 storm, sometime Friday south of Morgan City, La. (David Grunfeld/The Advocate via AP)
Stephanie Verrett and Jodie Jones fill sandbags to protect their home in anticipation of Hurricane Delta, expected to arrive along the Gulf Coast later this week, in Houma, La., Onsdag, Oct. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jule Chaisson pulls his crab traps from Bayou Dularge in anticipation of Hurricane Delta, expected to arrive along the Gulf Coast later this week, in Theriot, La., Onsdag, Oct. 7, 2020. He said he's pulled around 1, 000 traps over the last three days. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Charles Russ pulls their boat from the water after pulling his crab traps from Bayou Dularge in anticipation of Hurricane Delta, expected to arrive along the Gulf Coast later this week, in Theriot, La., Onsdag, Oct. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jule Chaisson motors his boat to the dock after pulling some of his crab traps from Bayou Dularge in anticipation of Hurricane Delta, expected to arrive along the Gulf Coast later this week, in Theriot, La., Onsdag, Oct. 7, 2020. He said he pulled around 1, 000 traps over the last three days. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A sport fisherman leaves Pointe Aux Chenes in Terrebonne Parish ahead of Hurricane Delta on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. Delta could make landfall, possibly as a Category 3 storm, sometime Friday south of Morgan City, La. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
Brian Dufrene loads his crab traps on a trailer after pulling them from Bayou Dularge in anticipation of Hurricane Delta, expected to arrive along the Gulf Coast later this week, in Theriot, La., Onsdag, Oct. 7, 2020. Dufrene says he's pulled around 1, 000 traps over the last three days. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Charles Russ and Allan Bergeron, right, pull their boat from the water after pulling their crab traps from Bayou Dularge in anticipation of Hurricane Delta, expected to arrive along the Gulf Coast later this week, in Theriot, La., Onsdag, Oct. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Tropical Storm Marco looked like it might deliver the first half of a hurricane double-blow with Laura, but nearly dissipated before hitting the state near the mouth of the Mississippi River on Aug. 24.

"I don't really remember all the names, " Keith Dunn said as he loaded up his crab traps as a storm threatened for a fourth time this season in Theriot, a tiny bayou town just feet above sea level.

And there are nearly eight weeks of hurricane season left, although forecasters at the National Weather Service office in New Orleans noted in a discussion Tuesday of this week's forecast that outside of Delta, the skies above the Gulf of Mexico look calm.

"Not seeing any signs of any additional tropical weather in the extended which is OK with us because we are SO DONE with Hurricane Season 2020, " skrev de.

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