Hurricane Nate leaves path of devastation

Hurricane Nate has since weakened into a tropical depression, but not before leaving its pathway devastated. Nate was first a Category 1 storm and was then downgraded into a tropical storm. It further lost its strength and has since been downgraded into a tropical depression.

The weather bulletin posted by National Hurricane Center on Oct. 8 announced that the sustained winds had decreased to 35 meters per hour. On the last reminder for post-tropical cyclone of NHC issued on Oct. 9, Nate was found to be 72 kilometers west of Bradford, Pennsylvania. 

The fourth to batter the United States, Hurricane Nate made its first landfall near the Mississippi River on Saturday, Oct. 7, with maximum winds of up to 85 mph. Its second landfall was in Biloxi, Mississippi. The last hurricane to hit the state was Katrina in 2005, where 6,000 of buildings in Biloxi were destroyed.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency announced on Monday, Oct. 9, that electric cooperatives were working hand in hand in restoring power in households in southeast Mississippi, which suffered power outage because of toppled trees falling on power lines. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant in a media briefing announced that there was no casualty, owing it to team efforts of his constituents and emergency responding groups.

Alabama had also taken the brunt of the hurricane. It experienced flooding of up to six feet. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Twitter warned residents to stay alert for possible storm surges. New Orleans, on the other hand, was spared of the storm's beating. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a tweet, "We are standing by ready to offer our support to all the communities affected by the recent hurricanes in the US."

Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama had been declared under state of emergency prior to the landfall of Hurricane Nate. Also, warnings and evacuation orders had been issued to residents in flood-prone areas before the storm.