Hurricane Delta made landfall Friday evening in southwestern Louisiana, packing winds of 100 mph with higher gusts. While Delta’s impact on trucking and other modes of freight transportation appears minor, the effect on local supply chains may be a bit more significant. Even with the remnants now 1,000 miles away, recovery continues.
Delta hit in virtually the same area as Hurricane Laura in late August, but Interstate 10 is open through the region. However, as of Monday morning, several sections of U.S. 90 are closed between Lake Charles and Lafayette due to high water and debris. Some local roads in these areas may be impassable.
Some U.S. and local roads are still shut down in parts of Alexandria and Baton Rouge due to Delta’s damage.
In its latest customer notification, Union Pacific Railroad (NYSE: UNP) said “while some line segments have already been returned to service, we have experienced some outages in parts of Louisiana.” The statement went on to say that UP continues “to work diligently to remove trees, install generators, install ballast and work with local power companies and contractors in the impacted areas.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has temporarily waived hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for drivers wanting to directly help with Delta’s relief and recovery efforts.
Utility crews have made a lot of progress restoring power in the impact zone, but more than 200,000 customers still have no electricity from the far Upper Coast of Texas to Louisiana. Unfortunately, at least one person has died due to the storm.
The remnants of Hurricane Delta will slow down drivers along the I-95 corridor the next couple of days. Look for periods of moderate to locally heavy rainfall from northern Virginia to southern New England. Any flash flooding will be isolated and mainly in low-lying areas.