Gulf Coast Largely Unscathed by Ida

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -- The system that was Tropical Storm Ida appears to have left the Gulf Coast largely unscathed.

A resident of Alabama's Dauphin (DAH'-fin) Island, where the storm came ashore this morning, says "The only thing it did to us is knock out the power." He says "our houses and people are fine."

Once over land, Ida quickly weakened to a tropical depression.

Some areas did see wind, heavy rain and rough surf. In Pensacola Beach, Fla., a vacationer from Tennessee says waves came up to the front of the house.

There is one presumed fatality in Louisiana, where a 70-year-old fisherman was knocked off his boat by a wave as Ida approached yesterday. He hasn't been found.

No other U.S. deaths were reported. But earlier in the week, a low-pressure system that the hurricane may have helped attract triggered flooding and landslides in El Salvador that killed at least 130 people.

 

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