Hurricane Nate unleashes flooding, power outages on Gulf Coast

Hurricane Nate brought a burst of flooding and
power outages to the Gulf Coast on Sunday -- but
the region, parts of which have continued to rebuild
after Hurricane Katrina more than a decade ago, was
largely spared of catastrophic damage.
Nate — the first hurricane to make landfall in
Mississippi since Katrina in 2005 — quickly lost
power, with its winds diminishing to a tropical
depression as it pushed northward into Alabama and
toward Georgia with heavy rain. It was a Category 1
hurricane when it pushed ashore outside Biloxi early
Sunday, its second landfall after initially hitting
southeastern Louisiana on Saturday evening.
The storm surge from the Mississippi Sound littered
Biloxi's main beachfront highway with debris and
flooded a casino's lobby and parking structure
overnight.
By dawn, however, Nate's receding floodwaters
didn't reveal any signs of widespread damage in the
city where Katrina had leveled thousands of
beachfront homes and businesses.
A sailboat beached near Margaritaville and the
Golden Nugget in Biloxi, Miss., on Sunday, after
Hurricane Nate made landfall. (Justin Sellers/The
Clarion-Ledger via AP)
No storm-related deaths or injuries were immediately
reported.
As Nate roared ashore, the hurricane-spawned storm
surge in coastal areas, flooding the parking structure
of the Golden Nugget casino in Biloxi and pushing
water several blocks deep into the city.
"It kind of surprised us," Mike Kovacevich, who lives
two blocks north of U.S. 90, told Biloxi officials on
their Facebook page. "We didn't expect to be this
deep. It come in pretty good — a lot of water."
Biloxi public works employees clearing debris from
U.S. 90 in Biloxi on Sunday. (Justin Sellers/The
Clarion-Ledger via AP)
Around 28,000 customers from multiple utility
companies were without power in southern portions
of the state, but officials from Mississippi Power,
which covers all three counties on the state's Gulf
Coast, told Fox News they expect to fully restore
power by Sunday night.
“Following Hurricane Nate, our dedicated team at
Mississippi Power is actively assisting our customers
and restoring service," Mississippi Power CEO
Anthony Wilson said. "The safety of our customers
and employees is our top priority. We know how
important electrical service is to restoring quality of
life after a storm and we are working hard for our
customers and their businesses.”
Combined, more than 100,000 residents in
Mississippi and Alabama were without power Sunday
morning, although some were starting to get
electricity restored. About 6,800 customers lost
power in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott said.
Mississippi's Gulf Coast casinos got approval to
reopen in midmorning after closing Saturday as the
storm approached.
Pumpkins strewn around Highway 90 along the Gulf
of Mexico in Pass Christian, Miss., in the aftermath
of Hurricane Nate. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In Alabama, the storm flooded homes and cars on
the coast and inundated at least one major road in
downtown Mobile.
At sunrise in Pensacola Beach, Florida, a small front-
end loader scraped sand off a parking lot and
returned it to the nearby beach. Sand also was
blown onto the decks of beachside bars and
restaurants.
In Alabama, Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said
he woke up around 3 a.m. Sunday to discover knee-
deep water in his yard. Although some homes and
cars on the island had flooded, Collier said he hadn't
heard of anyone needing rescue.
"We didn't think it would be quite that bad," he said.
"It kind of snuck up on us in the wee hours of the
morning."
Brock Long on FEMA's response to Hurricane Nate
Before Nate sped past Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula
late Friday and entered the Gulf of Mexico, it
drenched Central America with rains that left at
least 22 people dead. Still, Nate didn't approach the
intensity of Harvey, Irma and Maria — powerful
storms that left behind massive destruction during
2017's exceptionally busy hurricane season.
"We are thankful because this looked like it was
going to be a freight train barreling through the city,"
said Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city of
Biloxi.

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