Louisiana evacuates hundreds of residents due to the advance of hurricane Delta in the United States

A man drags a shopping cart in Louisiana in the face of Hurricane Delta.JONATHAN BACHMAN / Reuters

The streets of Lake Charles, a city in southwestern Louisiana, were emptied this Friday as Hurricane Delta advanced.

Residents, who were still picking up the debris caused by the Laura phenomenon two months ago, evacuated their homes in the face of the Category 3 storm that threatens gusts of wind, heavy rains and possible fatal floods.

Some streets were already covered with water this morning, from the coast of the state to the city of Baton Rouge, in the interior.

The US National Guard has been mobilized and a large part of the population has left voluntarily, warned by this hurricane that caused material damage in the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico) last Thursday.

Across southwestern Louisiana, schools and government offices have closed due to storm warnings, residents have boarded up windows and moved away from the path of the hurricane.

Governor Bel Edwards has warned that Delta could fly debris that has accumulated from previous storms "like missiles."

Edwards stressed that the people of Louisiana "are very strong and very resilient, but this will put them to the test."

Delta was a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale last Friday, with winds reaching 195 kilometers per hour before making landfall.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States expects the phenomenon, which is located 255 kilometers from the coastal city of Cameron, to weaken slightly before landing tonight.

But in the center they have explained that Delta has the capacity to cause "devastating damage" and that "a very dangerous flood" is expected north of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico with floods that can rise three meters and the probability of tornadoes.

The mayor of Lake Charles, Nic Hunter, has assured that the impact of Hurricane Laura last August is still latent in the population.

"In this community, there are many houses that were damaged and that is why many people are worried about staying under these structures again," he said in an interview.

Cathy Evans, a 63-year-old resident, helps her family leave Lake Charles to move with her to Texas until the danger passes.

“They never had time to recover from Laura and now the next storm hits them again.

They do not believe they can survive the second one, ”he told Reuters.

Shannon Fuselier, a Lake Charles neighbor, nails planks over the windows of a friend's house to protect them from gusts of wind.

Homes in the neighborhood are still covered with tarps to lessen damage from previous hurricanes.

The house that Fuselier reinforces was damaged by a tree that was uprooted by Laura.

"The branches and leaves do not harm," says Fuselier to the AFP agency.

What causes destruction are “pieces of metal, steel, the window frames of neighbors or shop signs,” he explains.

Fuselier says he will stay home because he doesn't think Delta is powerful enough to force him to flee.

Laura devastated thousands of houses as she passed through this town two months ago.

More than 6,000 people had to temporarily move to hotels as the winds ripped off the roofs of several homes.

When Delta reaches the northern Gulf Coast, it will be the 26th storm in an abnormally active hurricane season.