Gustav Roars to Landfall as Cat. 2

(NEWSER) - Louisiana is still finding coffins displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years on, the Wall Street Journal reports. Katrina and Rita moved 1,500 bodies from their resting places in the state's swampy south, where floating coffins during floods have long been part of local folklore. Hundreds remain unidentified, and they are still turning up in woods and water. More»

Flash flooding expected from drenching storm

(AP) - As Katia regained hurricane status, the center of Tropical Storm Lee stretched across the central Gulf Coast early today, dumping torrential rains that threatened flooding in low-lying communities in a foreshadowing of what cities further inland could face in coming days. Lee's center crawled ashore in Louisiana before dawn after the vast, soggy storm system spent hours during the weekend hovering in the northernmost Gulf of Mexico— knocking out power to 32,000 before it even made landfall . The storm's slow crawl to the north gave more time for its drenching rain bands to pelt a wide swath of vulnerable coastline, raising the flood threat. More»

Region could see 20 inches of rain

(NEWSER) - A tropical depression heading toward the Gulf Coast could soak the area in as much as 20 inches of rain, prompting concerns about flash floods in Louisiana, whose governor declared a state of emergency yesterday. What could become Tropical Storm Lee prompted warnings from Mississippi to Texas, the AP reports, with heavy rain expected over southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama through Sunday. More»

Oil, fishing industry slammed rains ease in New Orleans

(AP) - Hurricane Gustav left more than 1 million without power today as it tore roofs from homes, toppled trees, and flooded roads in the heart of Louisiana's fishing and oil industry, the AP reports. Many of the 2 million people who left coastal Louisiana watched TV coverage from shelters and hotel rooms. "They said it's bad, real bad," said a man who had called home to Chauvin, La. "There are roofs lying all over. It's all gone." More»

Rain totals along coast could reach 10 to 15 inches

(AP) - Bands of heavy rain and strong wind gusts from Tropical Storm Lee knocked out power to thousands in south Louisiana and Mississippi today and prompted evacuations in bayou towns like Jean Lafitte, where water lapped at several front doors. The sluggish storm stalled just before making landfall, and threatened to dump more than a foot of rain across the northern Gulf Coast and into the Southeast in coming days. No injuries were reported and there were only scattered reports of water entering low-lying homes and businesses. More»