NEW ORLEANS – The City of New Orleans is breathing a sigh of relief this morning as Hurricane Nate moved inward along the Mississippi and Alabama coast.
The storm, which made landfall as a category one and was downgraded to a Tropical Storm after making landfall Sunday morning, largely spared Louisiana after taking a final turn to the East.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a 10 a.m. press conference that a lot of people did a lot of work to help make sure the city was prepared for Nate.
“I think that you saw a team of people, both on the federal, state, and local level, get in a position of preparedness that I think is very very admirable,” Landrieu said. “I want to take a minute to thank all of the first responders, from our police officers to our firefighters to EMS, Homeland Security, as well as our National Guardsmen, who are still across the street and are standing down as we speak.”
City government is back up to speed and fully operational, Landrieu said.
No arrests were made for curfew violations, and parking regulations will be back in place in the morning.
Owners of vehicles currently parked on neutral grounds or in other illegal spaces don’t have anything to worry about today, Landrieu said.
Landrieu also said the city will return its focus to helping citizens in Puerto Rico, may of whom are still without water and power after Hurricane Maria.
With recovery efforts still underway in Houston and most of Florida, Landrieu said the 2017 hurricane season has been especially active and damaging.