Zeta pounds Gulf Coast, cuts power to thousands

People walk past a downed tree in New Orleans as the outer eye wall of Hurricane Zeta passes through Wednesday evening.
(AP/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate/Chris Granger)
People walk past a downed tree in New Orleans as the outer eye wall of Hurricane Zeta passes through Wednesday evening. (AP/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate/Chris Granger)

NEW ORLEANS -- Hurricane Zeta slammed into the Gulf Coast on Wednesday, pelting the New Orleans metropolitan area with rain and howling winds that ripped apart buildings, knocked out power to thousands and threatened to push up to 9 feet of seawater inland in a region already pounded by multiple storms this year.

The storm killed at least one person, a 55-year-old man who a Louisiana coroner said was electrocuted by a downed power line, and officials said life-threatening conditions would last into today.

St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis said emergency workers were doing their best to respond to reports of people in distress after their roofs were blown off.

"Guys, we received the brunt of Zeta, and Zeta gave us a good punch," McInnis told WDSU-TV.

[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsRnhXrVZZw]

Roads were flooded near the coast, where forecasters said Zeta made landfall around Terrebone Bay near Cocodrie, La., an unincorporated fishing village at the end of a highway with few if any full-time residents and a marine laboratory where a building was inundated.

Streams of rainfall ran off roofs in New Orleans' famed French Quarter, signs outside bars and restaurants swayed in the wind, and palm trees along Canal Street whipped furiously. A few trees were down, and one that fell across utility lines sparked an orange flash. Officials said a person was hospitalized with minor injuries after a structure collapsed, but further details weren't available.

More than 815,000 customers were without electricity in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including about 350,000 in metropolitan New Orleans. More outages were feared overnight as the storm moved northeastward across the Deep South.

Zeta had top sustained winds of 110 mph as a Category 2 hurricane at landfall and is the 27th named storm of a historically busy Atlantic hurricane season -- with more than a month left to go. It set a record as the 11th named storm to make landfall in the continental U.S. in a single season, well beyond the nine storms that hit in 1916.

Zeta weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 90 mph as it moved into southern Mississippi a few hours after landfall, but forecasters said it remained a life-threatening storm. Hurricane-force winds blew through Mobile, Ala., and a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gauge reported a 10-foot storm surge in Waveland, Miss.

Tropical storm warnings were issued as far away as the north Georgia mountains, unusual for the region. Forecasters issued a string of tornado warnings for as far east as the Florida Panhandle.

[Gallery not loading above? Click here for more photos » arkansasonline.com/1029zeta/]

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a radio interview that boats broke loose and struck a bridge in Lafitte, La. He said blackouts were extensive, including 94% without power in Plaquemines Parish, La.

"The wind has caused extensive structural damages to businesses, to homes, to electrical infrastructure," Edwards said.

Before landfall, Zeta's top winds had risen to just shy of a Category 3 storm, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane warnings stretched from Morgan City, La., to the Alabama/Mississippi state line, including Lake Pontchartrain and metropolitan New Orleans.

Tropical-storm warnings were issued for a large swath of the South, from Louisiana and Mississippi into Alabama and Georgia, including all of the Atlanta area, where winds could gust up to 55 mph early today. Winds could be "especially severe" in the southern Appalachian Mountains, where flash flooding is possible, the hurricane center said.

Information for this article was contributed by Gerald Herbert, Jay Reeves, Melinda Deslatte, Seth Borenstein, Jeff Martin and Gabriel Alcocer of The Associated Press.

Workers close a floodwall gate Wednesday in Poydras, La., before Hurricane Zeta made landfall on the storm-weary Gulf Coast. The storm roared ashore as a Category 2 hurricane, knocking out power to 815,000 customers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including about 350,000 around New Orleans. More photos at arkansasonline.com/1029zeta/.
(AP/Gerald Herbert)
Workers close a floodwall gate Wednesday in Poydras, La., before Hurricane Zeta made landfall on the storm-weary Gulf Coast. The storm roared ashore as a Category 2 hurricane, knocking out power to 815,000 customers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including about 350,000 around New Orleans. More photos at arkansasonline.com/1029zeta/. (AP/Gerald Herbert)
Jane McDow walks with her dog 'Duke' along the Lake Pontchartrain seawall in New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall this afternoon as a category 2 storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jane McDow walks with her dog 'Duke' along the Lake Pontchartrain seawall in New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall this afternoon as a category 2 storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Patrons enter Cafe du Monde Coffee Stand in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Businesses that were boarded up for previous hurricanes this season remain open this time as Hurricane Zeta approaches, expected to make landfall as a category 2 hurricane in the afternoon. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Patrons enter Cafe du Monde Coffee Stand in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Businesses that were boarded up for previous hurricanes this season remain open this time as Hurricane Zeta approaches, expected to make landfall as a category 2 hurricane in the afternoon. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, at 1 p.m. EDT, and provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Zeta in the Gulf of Mexico nearing Louisiana.  (NOAA via AP)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, at 1 p.m. EDT, and provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Zeta in the Gulf of Mexico nearing Louisiana. (NOAA via AP)
Tourists walk on the beach as the tail end of Hurricane Zeta makes landfall in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, early Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Zeta is leaving Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on a path that could hit New Orleans Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Tomas Stargardter)
Tourists walk on the beach as the tail end of Hurricane Zeta makes landfall in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, early Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Zeta is leaving Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on a path that could hit New Orleans Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Tomas Stargardter)
Boats that were moved inland for protection are stacked up in the Violet Canal in Violet, La., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall in the afternoon as a category 2 storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Boats that were moved inland for protection are stacked up in the Violet Canal in Violet, La., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall in the afternoon as a category 2 storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Tape closing off the beach blows in the wind before the arrival of Tropical Storm Zeta in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. A strengthening Tropical Storm Zeta is expected to become a hurricane Monday as it heads toward the eastern end of Mexico's resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and then likely move on for a possible landfall on the central U.S. Gulf Coast at midweek. (AP Photo/Tomas Stargardter)
Tape closing off the beach blows in the wind before the arrival of Tropical Storm Zeta in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. A strengthening Tropical Storm Zeta is expected to become a hurricane Monday as it heads toward the eastern end of Mexico's resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and then likely move on for a possible landfall on the central U.S. Gulf Coast at midweek. (AP Photo/Tomas Stargardter)
Palm trees are buffeted by the winds of Hurricane Zeta in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, early Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Zeta is leaving Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on a path that could hit New Orleans Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Tomas Stargardter)
Palm trees are buffeted by the winds of Hurricane Zeta in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, early Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Zeta is leaving Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on a path that could hit New Orleans Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Tomas Stargardter)
A Plaquemines Parish sheriff deputy walks away after workers closed a floodwall gate on Hwy 39 in Poydras, La., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall this afternoon as a category 2 storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A Plaquemines Parish sheriff deputy walks away after workers closed a floodwall gate on Hwy 39 in Poydras, La., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall this afternoon as a category 2 storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Perry Menesses tosses a rope to Will Guillot as they wanted to secure their boat with more rope after hearing that Hurricane Zeta has increased in strength, in Violet, La., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall this afternoon as a category 2 storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Perry Menesses tosses a rope to Will Guillot as they wanted to secure their boat with more rope after hearing that Hurricane Zeta has increased in strength, in Violet, La., Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall this afternoon as a category 2 storm. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Upcoming Events