MISSISSIPPI — All beaches along the Mississippi Gulf Coast are closed until further notice thanks to Hurricane Nate.
The beaches are closed to access as a precaution until the debris from Nate is removed and until water sampling and analysis are complete.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is also managing a precautionary hazardous materials incident with sunken vessels.
Nate made two US landfalls, the first late Saturday near the mouth of the Mississippi River in southeast Louisiana, with winds of 85 mph and the second near Biloxi Mississipi as a Category 1 hurricane.
Nate’s storm surge — a rise in water level as it approached the shore — caused flooding along the Gulf Coast and the storm knocked out power to 67,000 homes, most of them In Alabama.
But before taking aim at the US, Nate carved a path of devastation in Central America.
At least 28 people were killed Thursday in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras. Hundreds were rescued from floodwaters and mudslides. Many lost power and running water.