Tropical Storm Gordon races toward U.S. Gulf Coast

[September 04, 2018]  (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Gordon barreled on Tuesday toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it was expected to become a hurricane and shake parts of the south with high winds and heavy rain, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was due to come ashore late on Tuesday near the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, and drop as much as eight inches (20 cm) of rain in areas still recovering from last year's hurricanes.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency and said 200 Louisiana National Guardsmen were being deployed, along with 63 high-water trucks, 39 boats, and four helicopters.

New Orleans' mayor, LaToya Cantrell, declared her own state of emergency and closed all non-essential government offices.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency warned of storm surges of between 3 and 5 feet and told South Mississippi residents to be prepared to evacuate.

Gordon was generating winds of 65 miles per hour (105 kph) on Tuesday as it headed west-northwest, the National Hurricane Center said.

As of Tuesday morning, it was located about 230 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the Miami-based weather forecaster said.

U.S. oil producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp evacuated workers and shut production at two offshore oil platforms on Monday, and other companies with production and refining operations along the Gulf Coast said they were securing facilities.

Trees sway as Storm Gordon descends on Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S., September 3, 2018 in this still image taken from a video obtained from social media. @Saralina77/via REUTERS

The U.S. Coast Guard also said the ports of New Orleans as well as Gulfport and Pascagoula, Mississippi, may have to close within 48 hours.

Last year, powerful hurricanes hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, causing thousands of deaths, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of damage and massive power outages.

The storm passed over Florida's southern tip on Monday afternoon. There were no reports of any injuries or deaths or any damage to buildings, said Alberto Moscoso, a spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

(Reporting Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Louise Heavens and Andrew Heavens)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.