The Mississippi Gulf Coast and South Mississippi have shifted to the recovery phase in the aftermath of Hurricane Nate. Authorities say that there have still been no injuries reported in relation to Nate, and the focus is now on restoring electrical power to all customers in the state and completing damage assessments of the impacted areas. However, no major damage has been reported to MEMA.
At the height of Hurricane Nate, during landfall, approximately 50,000 customers were without power. As of 9:00 a.m. Monday, MEMA said that the number had fallen to about 2,200 customers without power statewide, with 1,700 of those in Jackson County, which saw up to 11 feet of storm surge and was the hardest hit by Hurricane Nate. The expectation is that those all customers in that area will have their power restored by the end of the day according to Singing River Electric.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) is still clearing sand and debris on some portions of U.S. Highway 90 on the Gulf Coast, but no major highways or roads are reported closed.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) is reporting that all shelters have closed on the Gulf Coast. At one point during the hurricane, 17 shelters were open, servicing approximately 1,100 residents.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, issued a closure Monday for all beaches across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The beaches are closed to access as a public health precaution until the hurricane debris is removed and until water sampling and analysis can resume. MDEQ is also managing a precautionary hazardous materials incident with sunken vessels.
Damage assessments will continue in the affected counties throughout the week, in conjunction with state and local partners.
MEMA said that the County emergency management offices have not requested any additional resources since Hurricane Nate made landfall, however, the State Emergency Operations Center is staffed and monitoring requests for resources.
