Two dead, at least 10 injured as Mississippi highway collapses in Hurricane Ida's wake
Two people died and at least 10 others were injured when their vehicles plunged into a deep hole where a highway collapsed after Hurricane Ida blew through the US state of Mississippi.
Key points:
Seven vehicles including a motorcycle were involved in the incident
The hole in the highway is around 15 to 18 metres long and 6 to 9 metres deep.
Hurricane Ida swept through southern Mississippi on Sunday as a Category 4 storm
Torrential rain may have caused the collapse, and the drivers may not have seen that the roadway in front of them had disappeared on Monday night, Mississippi Highway Patrol Corporal Cal Robertson said.
"Some of these cars are stacked on top of each other," Corporal Robertson said.
Seven vehicles were involved, including a motorcycle.
A crane was brought in to lift them out of the hole.
A drone video published by local media showed how a raised beam beneath the road had washed away, leaving a red-clay scar that runs for many metres, from a cemetery on one side into a wooded area on the other.
"It is a slide, which means the ground under the roadway and embankment was super-saturated and we can tell right now that's what caused the slide," Kelly Castleberry, district engineer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation said.
Local TV station WDSU-TV reported that state troopers, emergency workers and rescue teams responded to Highway 26 west of Lucedale, about 96 kilometres north-east of Biloxi, to find both the east and westbound lanes collapsed.
Mr Robertson said the hole was around 15 to 18 metres long and 6 to 9 metres deep.
"You can imagine driving at night with heavy rain coming down," he said.
"It's just nothing but a wall of water, your headlights kind of reflecting back on you," said Mr Robertson.
The identities and conditions of the of those involved in the accident have not yet been released.
Mississippi Highway Patrol said, "While we are still in the early stages of this investigation, motorists can expect Highway 26 to be closed at this location until further notice.
"The Mississippi Department of Transportation will assess the damages and make a determination as to when the roadway will reopen for travel."
Hurricane Ida leaves her mark
More than 20 centimetres of rain fell in the area during Ida, according to the National Weather Service.
Between 3,100 and 5,700 vehicles drive along the stretch of two-lane highway on an average day, according to Mississippi Department of Transportation data.
Hurricane Ida blasted ashore on Sunday as a Category 4 storm, one of the most powerful ever to hit the US mainland.
Loading...It knocked out power to much of southern Mississippi and south-eastern Louisiana, blowing roofs off buildings and reversing the flow of the Mississippi River.
Ida ravaged the region's power grid, leaving all of New Orleans and hundreds of thousands of other Louisiana residents in the dark with no clear timeline on when the electricity would come back on.
Some areas outside New Orleans also suffered major flooding and damage to homes and businesses.
"I can't tell you when the power is going to be restored. I can't tell you when all the debris is going to be cleaned up and repairs made," Governor John Bel Edwards said on Monday.
"But what I can tell you is we are going to work hard every day to deliver as much assistance as we can."
The storm was blamed for at least two other deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Loading...AP