Monster hurricane claims first victims as it hits US islands

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – Hurricane Katrina claimed its first victims in Louisiana early yesterday as it slammed into barrier islands while dumping torrential rain on a wide swathe of the US Gulf of Mexico coast and threatened more death and massive destruction.

The hurricane made its first landfall as its northern eye crossed the coast near Grand Isle, one of Louisiana’s barrier islands, at about 10am, said Martin Nelson, an official with the National Hurricane Center. “We may have a second landfall later on,” Nelson said in a brief telephone interview.Although slightly weaker than on Sunday, the monster storm has already forced hundreds of thousands of residents from New Orleans to Biloxi, Mississippi, to flee and seek refuge on higher ground.An estimated 80 per cent of New Orleans residents have left the low-lying city, according to local officials.But for three elderly people, evacuation from New Orleans to Baton Rouge proved fatal, officials said.State police spokesman Markus Smith said the people were “indirect” victims of the storm, which has been downgraded to category four from the highest level of five but is still packing a powerful punch.”It may have been dehydration-related,” Smith said in a telephone interview.He explained that Louisiana State Police views natural disaster casualties as direct when they are killed by falling trees and downed power lines or die as a result of flooding or storm surges.The National Hurricane Center downgraded Katrina to a category four storm after it measured sustained winds reaching 240 kilometres an hour.Forecasters warned that although “some fluctuations in strength” were likely, Katrina was expected to come ashore with its current vigour.New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who issued an unprecedented mandatory evacuation order for the city known as “The Big Easy”, warned people to remain vigilant.- Nampa-AFP”We may have a second landfall later on,” Nelson said in a brief telephone interview.Although slightly weaker than on Sunday, the monster storm has already forced hundreds of thousands of residents from New Orleans to Biloxi, Mississippi, to flee and seek refuge on higher ground.An estimated 80 per cent of New Orleans residents have left the low-lying city, according to local officials.But for three elderly people, evacuation from New Orleans to Baton Rouge proved fatal, officials said.State police spokesman Markus Smith said the people were “indirect” victims of the storm, which has been downgraded to category four from the highest level of five but is still packing a powerful punch.”It may have been dehydration-related,” Smith said in a telephone interview.He explained that Louisiana State Police views natural disaster casualties as direct when they are killed by falling trees and downed power lines or die as a result of flooding or storm surges.The National Hurricane Center downgraded Katrina to a category four storm after it measured sustained winds reaching 240 kilometres an hour.Forecasters warned that although “some fluctuations in strength” were likely, Katrina was expected to come ashore with its current vigour.New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who issued an unprecedented mandatory evacuation order for the city known as “The Big Easy”, warned people to remain vigilant.- Nampa-AFP