Lili knocks out power, spawns twisters

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Hurricane Lili roared ashore with 100 mph winds on the Louisiana Gulf Coast Thursday, uprooting trees, knocking out power, flooding homes, and spawning tornadoes in neighboring Mississippi.

Emergency officials were relieved they were spared the force of the Category 4 hurricane that was approaching late Wednesday with 145 mph winds. It weakened to a Category 2 storm before it came ashore about 7:40 a.m. south of New Iberia near Marsh Island.

"It kind of pooped out," said a Terry Tuiller, director of emergency operations in Orleans Parish where the city of New Orleans was hit hard last week.

Tropical Storm Isidore dumped up to 20 inches of rain in the Crescent City, closing streets and evacuation routes and causing an estimated $100 million in damage. Lili was not as rough on New Orleans this time as it was to cities like New Iberia and Lafayette to the west.

Lili lost strength as it moved inland over Louisiana during the day, dropping to tropical storm status later in the afternoon. From 4 to 8 inches of rain was forecast in Louisiana and the system was expected to move northeast into the Ohio River Valley.

Many of the more than 500,000 residents who fled southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas were returning to their homes Thursday, although some stayed away for because of downed power lines and fear of flooding in their neighborhoods.

Entergy, one of the largest electricity suppliers along the Gulf coast, reported at least 174,000 customers without power in the area, more than 80,000 of them in Louisiana alone. Crews had to wait for the high winds to die down before they could repair downed lines.

There were at least two reports of tornadoes in Pearl River and Hancock counties in southwest Mississippi but no damage, according to the National Weather Service. Tornado warnings were numerous in both states during the day.

Crews were hoping to return soon to offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico where they were evacuated for the second time in a week. Port Fourchon, the major oil terminal on the Gulf, was closed for a second time by the hurricane.

President Bush approved new federal disaster aid for Louisiana late Thursday although officials said they had not determined yet which parishes would be eligible and for what kind of loans or grants. Aid was also authorized after Isidore last week.

Joe Allbaugh, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was headed to Louisiana to survey damage, especially in the remote, low-lying coastal communities that were evacuated.

On the northeast side of Lake Ponchartrain near New Orleans, emergency officials in St. Tammany Parish reported were concerned about a repeat of flooding last week that damaged 1,200 homes.

"We have water rising from the lake again," said Parish spokeswoman Suzanne Parsons.

The Red Cross reported that 6,300 residents were staying in shelters in Louisiana and Texas. Many of the evacuees drove as far north as Lufkin and Tyler in Texas and even Memphis, Tenn. to find hotel rooms or stay with friends or relatives.