New Orleans flood defences have held out against Tropical Storm Lee in one of the biggest tests since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.
Despite up to 13 inches of rainfall since Lee developed late last week, there were only isolated reports of flooding in roads and homes. New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu warned residents to stay alert for flash floods and high winds expected before Lee departs.
He said: “Let’s not be lulled to sleep by the breaks that we’ve had.”
Tropical Storm Lee was moving northeast after weakening to a tropical depression but still threatened to bring heavy rains and flooding to a large section of the US Southeast.
The powerful storm was on course to hit Mississippi today and Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky on Wednesday and Thursday, the US National Hurricane Centre said. “These rains are expected to cause extensive flooding and flash flooding,” forecasters said.
Tornadoes were possible in sections of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle and southwest Georgia.
Winds from the storm have spread wildfires that have burned more than 3.5 million acres of Texas, with 1,000 homes threatened in Bastrop County, just east of Austin, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Katia strengthened rapidly in the Atlantic to a Category 2 storm on Sunday.
Katia had sustained winds of 105 mph, the hurricane centre said, but it was too soon to gauge the potential threat to land or the US east coast. But it could become a “major” hurricane with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph today.