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USA

Hurricane Nate claims lives in Central America, heads for New Orleans

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By Robert Hackwill
Hurricane Nate claims lives in Central America, heads for New Orleans

Preparations for Hurricane Nate are being made along America’s south-eastern coast, and there are fears New Orleans, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago, could be in for another battering. Residents are stocking up before the storm. Others in high-risk areas are being told to leave.



“Our greatest threat from this particular storm is not necessarily rain but strong winds and storm surge. So given this threat, I am ordering an mandatory evacuation of Venetian Isles, Lake Catherine and the Irish Bayous in the city of New Orleans,” said New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu. “I am instituting a mandatory curfew that will begin Saturday evening six o`clock pm. And ending Sunday morning. The city remains under a state of emergency as we prepare and I assure you and the public that we are very well prepared. We have a great team of first responders and organisers, we have been through this many, many times before and we are ready for whatever Nate brings our way.”


Nate has already claimed at least 12 lives in Nicaragua, nine in Costa Rica, and two each in El Salvador and Honduras. Thousands of people were evacuated and Costa Rica has declared a state of emergency.


Although it is only a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest, with winds of around 130 kph, it could gain strength over the Gulf of Mexico before making its American landfall.