Hurricane in Louisiana, September 1 to 2, 1998

Hurricane Earl was the second tropical system to affect southwest Louisiana in two weeks. Minimal damage was reported along the coast from Cameron to Morgan City. Some additional beach erosion did occur with tides running between 3.0 and 3.5 MSL, but the damage was not as severe as what occurred with Tropical Storm Charley.Highest winds were only in the 20 to 30 mph range along the coast. The greatest rainfall occurred around the Morgan City area, where between one and two inches of rain fell.Most offshore oil rigs did evacuate, which accounted for as many as 10,000 people off the southwest Louisiana Gulf coast. Corp of Engineer Locks along the Intracoastal Waterway reported very heavy traffic from shrimp boats and other commercial fishing vessels moving inland when the hurricane watch was issued. Over 160 boats went through the Freshwater Bayou Lock in southeastern Vermilion Parish on September 1st.Evacuations were called for in Cameron Parish, where over 5,000 people evacuated. Vermilion, Iberia, and St. Mary Parishes had only voluntary evacuations. While only minimal damages were incurred due to the higher tides, hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps millions, were lost in offshore oil and commercial fishing.