Louisiana residents are confronting the menace of a new hurricane weeks after one battered parts of the state.
Resident got stark warnings on Thursday to brace for winds that could turn still-uncollected debris into dangerous missiles and again knock out power to thousands.
Forecasts showed Delta had strengthened back into a Category 3 hurricane as it bore down on the state carrying winds of up to 195km/h and the potential to deliver a storm surge of up to 3.5 metres when it arrives on Friday.
The projected path included the southwest area of Louisiana where Category 4 Hurricane Laura made landfall less than two months ago. Laura has been blamed for more than 30 deaths.
At least five southwest Louisiana parishes that were hit hard by Laura in August were under mandatory evacuations.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said President Donald Trump approved his request to declare a federal emergency, which frees up federal resources.
The most recent forecast for Hurricane Delta has the storm making landfall "almost precisely" where Hurricane Laura struck - a region where homes and electrical infrastructure are still damaged, Edwards said in a radio interview.
This is the sixth time this year that people in Louisiana have had to get ready for an approaching hurricane or tropical storm, while also coping with the coronavirus pandemic.
Delta is the 25th named storm of this year's unprecedented Atlantic hurricane season, the latest in a series of intensifying storms that scientists have attributed to global warming.
It hit Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane just south of the resort city of Cancun on Wednesday with high winds and heavy rain.
No deaths or injuries were reported.
Australian Associated Press
