Hurricane Delta bears down on storm-weary US Gulf Coast

Lousiana residents face second major storm in less than two months

Debris of a van damaged by Hurricane Laura less than 6 weeks ago is seen on the street in Lake Charles, Louisiana on October 8, 2020, a day before Hurricane Delta was expected to hit the southern US state. AFP

A man inspects trees felled by the passage of Hurricane Delta in Cancun, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, on October 8, 2020. AFP

A deserted street in Lake Charles, one of the main cities in Louisiana state, before the arrival of Hurricane Delta on the US Gulf Coast. AFP

Ronda Fontenot, 58, and her partner Jesse Wamboldt, 54, sit in the driveway of their home damaged by Hurricane Laura as they await the arrival of Hurricane Delta in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Reuters

Signs and debris are seen outside a home left damaged by Hurricane Laura, ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Delta in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on October 8, 2020. Reuters

A Circle K store is boarded up in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Delta in Abbeville, Louisiana. Bloomberg

A hair salon in Morgan City, Louisiana, is boarded up ahead of Hurricane Delta. Bloomberg

Workers board up a Walgreens store ahead in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Delta in Morgan City, Louisiana. Bloomberg

Heavy traffic on the I-10 westbound amid evacuations ahead of Hurricane Delta on October 8, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Getty Images / AFP

A lifeguard tower lies on its side after it was toppled over by Hurricane Delta in Cancun, Mexico. AP Photo

A tree blown down onto a fence by Hurricane Laura still remains as Hurricane Delta approaches in Perry, Louisiana. Reuters

A satellite image shows Hurricane Delta as it progresses over the Gulf of Mexico towards the Louisiana coast October 8, 2020. NOAA via Reuters

Residents in parts of the US state of Louisiana left town or made last-minute preparations on Friday as Hurricane Delta spun across the Gulf of Mexico toward a region struggling to recover from the damage inflicted by a storm less than two months ago.

National Hurricane Centre forecasters predict that Delta will be a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale when it makes landfall on Friday afternoon or evening, carrying 185kph winds and a "life threatening" storm surge.

"I know people in Louisiana, especially the south-west, are very strong and very resilient, but they are going to be tested here," state governor John Bel Edwards said at a Thursday evening news conference.

Forecast models show Delta making landfall between the cities of Lake Charles and Lafayette, driving a storm surge of between 1.2 and 3.3 metres up Vermilion Bay on the coast. It could also unleash tornadoes as it moves over land and drop up to 25 centimetres of rain.

The same region was hit hard by Hurricane Laura in August, leaving about 8,000 people still living temporarily in hotel rooms and others with damaged homes.

Another storm, Hurricane Sally, brought torrential rains and flash flooding to Alabama and Georgia states in September.

"They never had time to recover from Laura and now this next storm is hitting them. They never had time to get back on their feet and they didn't think they could survive the second one," Cathy Evans, 63, said of her daughter's family as she helped them move out of their Lake Charles home.

Ms Evans, who traveled to Lake Charles from Texarkana, Arkansas, left with her daughter and family for Texas on Thursday evening as Louisiana was closing its flood control gates.

New Orleans may be spared the worst of the storm, although it will be hit by gusty winds and mild rain, said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Kottlowski, with Lafayette the largest city on the storm's eastern and more dangerous side.

The state received a federal emergency declaration and Wal-Mart said it was closing many of its stores across the Gulf Coast as a precaution.

Energy companies halted 92 per cent, or nearly 1.7 million barrels per day of offshore oil output, and 62 per cent of natural gas production, data showed. The US Coast Guard warned shippers of impending gale force winds from Port Arthur, Texas, to New Orleans.

When Delta reaches the northern Gulf Coast, it will be the 10th named storm to make a US landfall this year, eclipsing a record that has stood since 1916.