Louisiana seeks federal disaster help to aid cleanup after Isidore's wind and rain

<br>DELACROIX, La. (AP) _ Tropical Storm Isidore's sweep across Louisiana wrought an estimated $18 million in flood damage and left thousands of residents without power as they looked ahead to long

Friday, September 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

DELACROIX, La. (AP) _ Tropical Storm Isidore's sweep across Louisiana wrought an estimated $18 million in flood damage and left thousands of residents without power as they looked ahead to long days of bailing water from cars and homes.

Residents were spared hurricane-strength winds, but not by much. The sprawling storm's ill-defined eye passed over the Louisiana coast packing 65-mph winds _ 9 mph shy of hurricane speed. As it moved west, the storm spawned tornadoes from Louisiana to Florida.

``I didn't think the water would get this high. It just kept coming and coming and coming,'' said Susan Serpas, whose front yard in Delacroix had about 4 feet of water Thursday.

Forecasters said the storm, downgraded to a tropical depression, would slide into the Ohio Valley by the weekend, bringing heavy rain to the Midwest and the Northeast.

Gov. Mike Foster said the storm caused at least $18 million in damage in Louisiana, including $3.7 million in lost sugar cane. Foster said the damage estimate will grow, and he was seeking a federal disaster declaration.

More than 140,000 people lost electrical service during the storm. Entergy Corp., which serves much of Louisiana and Mississippi, said more than 50,000 customers remained without electricity Thursday afternoon.

A tornado sparked by Isidore hit a barn near Graceville, Fla., injuring a farmer, while another damaged more than 20 homes in Santa Rosa Beach. Mississippi officials said floodwaters kept them from reaching a 67-year-old man who died of cardiac arrest early Thursday.

The storm lost its punch and was downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved past Jackson, Miss., late Thursday afternoon.

The water receded slowly in Delacroix, a St. Bernard Parish fishing village that juts into the Gulf of Mexico. Residents said they had little or no wind damage, just lots of flooding.

The wind toppled trees in Alabama and gusts of 40 mph hit Birmingham, more than 200 miles from the coast. Up to 10 inches fell in Mississippi and 6 inches fell in parts of Tennessee.

Mississippi kept its floating casinos shuttered. One, the Treasure Bay in Biloxi, sustained a 12-foot gash when the surging sea drove its entrance ramp deep into one of its walls. Backup security cables were the only thing keeping the casino barge from floating away.

``This was totally unexpected, this much water,'' Bernard Carlson, 71, said as he watched the swollen Tchoutacabouffa River from the upstairs porch of his flooded home near Biloxi. City officials estimated 50 to 75 homes were damaged by floodwaters.

Isidore was far weaker than it was when it hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a hurricane over the weekend, killing at least two people. Officials in New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., said their cities weathered the storm well.

Florida officials were watching another storm in the Caribbean. Tropical Storm Lili was downgraded Thursday to a tropical depression, but was expected to soak Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica by the weekend. The storm could strengthen by the weekend and was moving to the northwest, toward Cuba.

Auburn University soils expert James Hairston said Isidore's rains, while welcome, will not pull the South out of its five-year drought. Only extended rains over the next several months would do that, he said.

In coastal St. Bernard Parish, Chief Deputy Anthony Fernandez estimated at least 3,500 people evacuated and were waiting to head home, including inhabitants of about 900 homes and fishing camps that lie outside the protective levees that border larger towns.

Corky Melerine found 4 feet of water in his Delacroix home when he visited it by boat on Thursday morning. Melerine knows stronger storms are likely in the future, but he intends to return home and clean up.

``If I moved up north, I'd have to fight the tornadoes. Out west you got the fires,'' Melerine said. ``You got to live somewhere.''