Biloxi Faces Flooding As Nate Makes Second Landfall On Gulf Coast

Lanny Dean takes video as he wades along a flooded Beach Boulevard next to Harrah’s Casino as the eye of Nate pushes ashore in Biloxi, Miss., early Sunday.
Lanny Dean takes video as he wades along a flooded Beach Boulevard next to Harrah's Casino as the eye of Nate pushes ashore in Biloxi, Miss., early Sunday.
Lanny Dean takes video as he wades along a flooded Beach Boulevard next to Harrah’s Casino as the eye of Nate pushes ashore in Biloxi, Miss., early Sunday.
Lanny Dean takes video as he wades along a flooded Beach Boulevard next to Harrah's Casino as the eye of Nate pushes ashore in Biloxi, Miss., early Sunday.

Biloxi Faces Flooding As Nate Makes Second Landfall On Gulf Coast

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Updated at 9:07 a.m., ET Sunday

Hurricane Nate is rapidly weakening, but the the National Hurricane Center is warning of storm surge flooding continuing as heavy rainfall pours down over a swath of southeastern states.

The hurricane’s center will continue to move inland across the Deep South, Tennessee Valley, and central Appalachian Mountains through Monday.

Nate was downgraded to a tropical storm, hours after it made landfall for the second time early Sunday morning, near the city of Biloxi, Miss.

Videos and photos from Biloxi show water inundating parts of the city.

In its 7 a.m. CT advisory, the NHC said storm surge warnings remain in effect for the areas between the Mississippi and Alabama border to the Okaloosa and Walton County Line, Fla. While tropical storm warnings remain in effect throughout the Alabama and Florida border eastward to Indian Pass, Fla.

Water is expected to rise by five to eight feet between the Mississippi/Alabama border to the Alabama/Florida border, including Mobile Bay, Ala.

Tropical storm conditions are expected to continue for the next couple of hours.

Photographer Mike Theiss posted video on Twitter he said was the interior of Biloxi’s Golden Nugget casino:

Two other Twitter users posted videos of flooded parking garages:

Wesley Williams of WLOX wrote that power had been knocked out in downtown Biloxi by the forceful winds.

Pictures and videos show parts of U.S. Route 90, which runs east and west along much of the Gulf Coast, completely submerged in water.

The Associated Press reports Nate is the first hurricane since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina to make landfall in Mississippi.

But Katrina is better known for causing the widespread destruction of New Orleans in neighboring Louisiana that year. This time New Orleans, which is located about 90 miles to Biloxi’s west, appeared to miss the brunt of the storm. Mayor Mitch Landrieu had imposed a curfew on the city but lifted it when the National Weather Service canceled a hurricane warning for the area. City officials still cautioned residents to take shelter from heavy winds.

The situation was different to Biloxi’s east. Mobile, Ala., experienced flooding of its own.

Adam Olivier of Fox10 tweeted what he said was water inundating downtown Mobile:

Another tweet showed more extensive flooding, in what was said to be downtown Mobile:

At 2:15 a.m. local time Sunday, the National Weather Service of Mobile measured water surges of 5.6 to 5.7 feet at locations near the city.

The National Hurricane Center predicted that “Nate’s center will continue to move inland across the Deep South, Tennessee Valley, and central Appalachian Mountains through Monday.”

The agency said Nate will “quickly weaken as it moves farther inland” and “should degenerate into a remnant low late Monday.”

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