Zeta slams Gulf Coast as Category 2 hurricane
Casino parking garage in Mississippi flooded by storm surge. Charles Watson reports from New Orleans.
Zeta is roaring across the Southeast on Thursday, threatening to bring more damage from its powerful winds as the scope of the destruction spawned by the storm is being revealed along the Gulf Coast.
The storm made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane in southeastern Louisiana, packing winds of 110 mph before quickly roaring through the metro New Orleans area. Zeta has since weakened to a tropical storm, but it's still blasting the region with 60 mph winds.
"A tropical storm that made landfall yesterday across Louisiana, fifth named storm to make landfall across that state, as almost a Category 3 storm," Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean said on "Fox & Friends." "We certainly saw those wind gusts over parts of Louisiana. Very strong winds over Mississippi and even New Orleans."
ZETA SWEEPS THROUGH SOUTH WITH DAMAGING WINDS, FLOODING RAINS ON PATH TO NORTHEAST
The storm has been blamed for at least three deaths so far. In Louisiana, a 55-year-old man died after a coroner said he was electrocuted by a downed power line in New Orleans. In Georgia, authorities said a man was killed when high winds caused a tree to fall onto a mobile home in Cherokee County.
People look at a downed part of a tree after Hurricane Zeta made landfall, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, in New Orleans. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)
In Mississippi, a man died in Biloxi after he was taking video of the storm and drowned at a marina, the Sun Herald reported.
Damage in New Orleans after Hurricane Zeta roared through. The storm is now moving through the South headed to the Northeast, bringing damaging winds to millions. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP/NOAA/GOES-East)
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards was expected Thursday to tour the coastal regions hardest hit by the storm. And as neighbors and church groups started reaching out to help those affected, he also highlighted the need to protect against the coronavirus at the same time.
“Offer the help, but do it with a mask on,” he said.
Widespread damage has been reported across southeast Louisiana after Hurricane Zeta roared ashore. (Jefferson Parish)
The Jefferson Parish government said that Zeta caused three "major breaches" to a levee on Grand Isle. A photo shared by officials on Twitter showed water running through breached areas.
Hurricane Zeta caused three "major breaches" to a levee on Grand Isle, Jefferson Parish officials said. (Jefferson Parish)
Zeta left much of New Orleans and the surrounding area without power as 200 falling trees and more limbs pulled down utility lines. Signs outside bars and restaurants swayed back and forth in the wind and palm trees along Canal Street whipped furiously as the storm passed.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell implored residents to stay home and let city officials assess the damage.
“Although we have made it through, we have been damaged, we have been hit,” she said.
LIVE UPDATES: ZETA WEAKENS OVER ALABAMA, STORM LEAVES AT LEAST 3 DEAD
Many residents were surprised at the mess in New Orleans, as the city was littered with toppled trees and fences.
“I don’t remember the last time we had a storm of this magnitude in October,” Stephanie Becnel told the Associated Press.
A passing car's headlights illuminate a darkened Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
“We just cleaned up our yard and decorated for Halloween, so now we have to do it all over again,” Becnel said. “But I think that’s mainly what it’s going to be is just cleaning up debris, tree limbs, trash.”
Videos from across the region show the storm's wicked winds ripping roofs off homes and tossing debris across roadways.
Zeta's storm surge also caused a boat to be pushed onto a flooded Louisiana State Highway 1.
As much as 5 feet of Gulf water surrounded a casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, and deputies in Harrison County, Mississippi, received multiple calls from people who had remained in mobile homes that were threatened by winds.
HURRICANE ZETA DRIVES INLAND, KILLS 1, KNOCKS OUT POWER TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS IN LA., MISS.
As the storm headed inland, Zeta's wicked winds lead to a semi-truck being overturned on Interstate 10 in Mississippi.
The storm has swept inland with its whipping winds causing major damage in the Atlanta area. First responders rescued a man in Atlanta who was pinned to his bed when a large tree came crashing into his bedroom early Thursday, fire officials said.
Atlanta firefighters transport a man they freed who was trapped in his third-floor bedroom after a tree came crashing down on a home on Brookview Drive in Atlanta, as Tropical Storm Zeta sped across the Southeast Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Morning rush-hour commuters had to dodge downed trees and navigate their way past signals with no power.
Atlanta firefighters transport a man they freed who was trapped in his third-floor bedroom after a tree came crashing down on a home on Brookview Drive in Atlanta, as Tropical Storm Zeta sped across the Southeast Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Trees blocked Interstate 985 near Buford in the far northeastern suburbs, as well as some lanes of Interstate 20 near downtown, the Georgia Department of Transportation said.
Authorities work to clear a fallen tree that is blocking a lane on I-20 at Langhorn Street in Atlanta on Thursday morning, Oct. 29, 2020. Tropical Storm Zeta sped across the Southeast on Thursday, leaving a trail of damage and more than 2 million homes and businesses in the dark in Atlanta. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Hundreds of schools, from the Gulf Coast to the Carolinas, canceled classes or planned to open late due to the storm.
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Power outages impacting more than 2 million customers were reported across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, according to the website PowerOutage.us.
Georgia had the most outages before dawn, with more than 1 million customers in the dark.
The storm will continue to bring very strong winds east and south of its track, which could bring damage along the way. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) notes that damaging winds in Alabama and Georgia will shift into eastern Tennessee, the Carolinas, and southeastern Virginia.
"Wind gusts could be especially severe across the southern Appalachian Mountains," the NHC said.
Severe thunderstorms will be possible, including brief tornadoes to the east of the center of Zeta.
Flood advisories stretch through the Northeast as Zeta moves up the East Coast. (Fox News)
A tornado or two is possible later throughout the day over the Carolinas and southern Virginia.
Forecast rain amounts as Zeta moves north. (Fox News)
Heavy rain will also spread across a wide swath of the East with some areas receiving 1-3 inches. Flash flooding will be possible.
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Fox News' Janice Dean and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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