Hurricane Delta makes landfall in Louisiana 3:38
(CNN) ––
In the midst of a fierce lateral rain that was already hitting their houses and the strong winds that were tearing their roofs –– or the tarps that cover the holes in the roof left by another cyclone just weeks–– hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana and southeastern Texas they awaited the fury of Hurricane Delta.
All in the dark of the night this Friday.
LOOK: Faced with a threat from Delta, the CDC warns of carbon monoxide poisoning
More than 453,000 homes and businesses were without power, according to tracking website poweroutage.us, when Delta made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane. Its winds were approaching 100 mph.
Since then, the cyclone has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane as it moved inland.
Conditions along the coast deteriorated rapidly as Delta approached.
And meteorologists noted that it will rapidly weaken as it moves inside.
But first, residents will have to deal with hours of dangerous conditions, such as a potentially deadly storm surge, CNN meteorologist Tom Sater warned.
Delta comes to Louisiana
Downtown Delta made landfall just over 10 miles from where deadly Hurricane Laura struck the coast in August.
Although Delta is not as powerful as Laura, who left a lot of damage still unrepaired, it has a wider wind field, Sater explained.
CNN's Martin Savidge in Lake Charles, Louisiana, reported just after Delta made landfall that the rain was incessant and the wind was increasing dramatically.
Thousands of blue tarps covering the roofs damaged by Laura flew through the city.
Debris piled up on the sides of the road shot like missiles through the air.
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"We are downtown," Mayor Nic Hunter told CNN.
"It is intense."
He added that early reports indicated that flooding would be the biggest concern.
For residents who did not evacuate, who only regained their power last week, the lights were turned off again.
Hurricane Delta leaves millions under surveillance for flash floods
Among the dangers were flooding near the coast.
"The deepest water will be along the immediate shoreline near and east of the landing site (Creole, Louisiana), where the storm surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves," said the National Hurricane Center.
A water level gauge at Freshwater Canal Locks, Louisiana, located in southern Vermilion Parish, nearly 50 miles south of Abbeville, Louisiana, reported a storm surge 2.1 meters above ground level, according to the Administration. National Oceanic and Atmospheric.
Water with such a high level is considered a major flood, according to the agency.
Rain from Hurricane Delta falls over Lafayette, Louisiana, on Friday, October 9.
Approximately 5.5 million people are under flash flood watch from Louisiana to southwestern Tennessee.
In Louisiana, rains could exceed flash flood levels in most of the state, the National Weather Service said.
Rain totals could reach 12 to 25 centimeters in most places, forecasters anticipated.
Some areas could register up to 15 inches of rain.
"The fact that it is weakening shouldn't cause anyone to lose focus or vigilance," Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said at a news conference.
«Because this is still a very strong problem.
It's going to bring significant impacts to the state of Louisiana.
We just lost power here in Sweet Lake.
This wind is pretty serious.
Our generator kicked on, so we're in good shape for now.
Volume up if you want to know what #HurricaneDelta sounds like.
#Delta # hurricaneseason2020 pic.twitter.com/i1XNk5nMX1
- Will Precht (@will_precht) October 9, 2020
Hurricane Delta evacuation orders
Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect in communities like Cameron and Calcasieu parishes, home to Lake Charles.
West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital in Sulfur began evacuating patients Thursday "as a precaution."
He moved them to medical centers around Baton Rouge and New Orleans, with only one core team remaining at the scene, according to a press release.
More than 9,500 people were in shelters before the hurricane, Edwards said.
Many of those people were evacuated in August during Laura, he added.
There is a hurricane warning from High Island, Texas, to Morgan City, Louisiana, and a storm surge warning from High Island to the mouth of the Pearl River, according to the hurricane center.
Four people were rescued unharmed by the Coast Guard after a storm surge left them stranded in the dunes of Port Mansfield, Texas, on Friday, according to the Coast Guard.
"I'm packing to go again"
In the Delta-affected area of Louisiana, residents are still reeling from Laura, Cameron Parish Sheriff Ron Johnson said early this morning.
Debris on the roads and power outages from the hurricane that struck several weeks ago are the biggest concerns, he added during a telephone interview with CNN affiliate KPLC.
Some residents stay, but the place has a "pretty good evacuation rate."
The site is also prepared to help people sheltering-in-place, Johnson said.
Officers were still patrolling the roads, but would withdraw when winds reached 80 to 95 km / h.
Leona Boullion told CNN affiliate KPRC that her home in Cameron, Louisiana, was saved from Laura, but she wasn't sure if she would be as lucky this time.
"I'm packing to go again," Boullion told the affiliate.
"I just hope I have something to come back to," he added.
In Gueydan, Doug Sonnier told CNN that as of Thursday there were still workers repairing the damage to the apartment floor above the barn - which lost its roof - in his hunting lodge.
His business has also been badly damaged by the pandemic.
"I'm 50% down," he said.
"We have had so many cancellations this year," he explained.
In Texas, Bridge City resident Sharlene Terro told CNN affiliate KFDM that she took her yard apart three times this year due to storms.
Jim Hayes told KFDM that he shares the same frustration as Terro.
His house is still sealed and his garage was destroyed by a tree that fell in his garden during Laura's passage.
"We cut down everything (the tree) and moved it, and now another (hurricane) is coming," he said.
"Exhausted from hurricanes"
Port Arthur, Texas, is "experiencing some havoc" from Hurricane Delta, Mayor Thurman Bill Bartie told CNN's Erin Burnett.
Port Arthur is located in Sabine Lake, on the Texas-Louisiana border, about 25 km north of the Gulf of Mexico.
Flooding has been reported in Port Arthur, where water was draining from the channel between the Gulf and the lake and spilling onto Texas Highway 87, Bartie explained.
Bartie said the city has also lost power.
“We don't have electricity even here.
I'm in town hall right now and our generator didn't turn on for some reason.
So we are experiencing some discomfort, ”explained Bartie.
“We have had constant rainfall since 9 or 10 this morning.
We had gusts of wind and all these other things, ”he added.
"We are experiencing some havoc even on the western side of Delta," added the mayor.
Bartie said he and others in Port Arthur are getting tired of dealing with hurricanes during this historically active season, which has had four named systems on the Gulf Coast.
"At this point, I'm exhausted from hurricanes and I know my citizens (too) are," Bartie told CNN.
CNN's Jay Croft, Dave Hennen, Hira Humayun, Brandon Miller, Gene Norman, Amir Vera and Ryan Young contributed to this report.
Hurricane Delta