LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana parish heavily hit by Hurricane Delta is experiencing rising waters from heavy rain.
Sheriff Tony Mancuso of Calcasieu Parish told KPLC-TV early Saturday that vehicles were overturned on Interstate-10 westbound and said area residents who evacuated should not be in a rush to return.
He said the situation remains “dangerous.”
Still, he said anyone who cannot afford to be gone for more than several days can head back, but with caution. He said people just need “to use some good common sense.”
He said rising water is the biggest problem, and areas prone to flooding have been flooded.
Tropical Storm Delta is sliding over northern Louisiana with weakening winds after dropping several inches of rain in the state.
Maximum sustained winds were at 40 mph (65 kph) Saturday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. The system is expected to further weaken to a tropical depression later in the day.
Delta is centered about 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Monroe, Louisiana. The storm is forecast to continue moving to the north-northeast over parts of Mississippi and into the Tennessee Valley through Sunday.
All watches and warnings for Delta were discontinued in the 4 a.m. advisory. Forecasters say the system will continue its path over northern Mississippi Saturday morning and into the Tennessee Valley throughout the rest of the weekend.
The threat for tornadoes remains Saturday for eastern Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, and western and central Georgia, forecasters said.
Power outages in Louisiana and neighboring Texas neared 600,000 homes and businesses early Saturday, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us. Almost 40,000 outages were reported in Mississippi.