Five million prepare for flash flooding: Battered Louisiana coast braces for Hurricane Delta which is expected to make landfall as a Category 2 around 6pm in SAME spot Hurricane Laura did six weeks ago

The battered Louisiana coast is bracing for Hurricane Delta which is now at a devastating Category 2 strength with winds topping 110 mph - just six weeks after the same area of the state was ravaged by Hurricane Laura.

Delta is forecast to make landfall along Louisiana's southwest coast within a couple of hours bringing with it a life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and dangers of flooding and tornadoes.  

Five million people are preparing for flash flooding and thousands are under mandatory evacuation orders in communities including Cameron Parish and Calcasieu Parish, while the Louisiana National Guard has set up emergency shelters to take in displaced residents.  

A curfew was issued for all residents in the Lafayette Parish area from 5 p.m. ET Friday through to 9 a.m. Saturday as officials warned people to prepare to hunker down in their homes. 

In New Orleans, which is expected to escape the worst of the storm, City employees were told they would be dismissed early from work Friday to ensure they were out of harm's way as gusty winds were already being felt in the city by around 1 p.m. ET as well as over in Galveston Texas.   

Donald Trump tweeted late Friday morning that the storm was on its way and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had been drafted in to support residents in Louisiana and Mississippi as the two states received a federal emergency declaration.

'Just got a briefing on Hurricane Delta rushing toward Louisiana and Mississippi. @fema is there and ready!!!' the president tweeted. 

Louisiana has been pummeled by four tropical storms or hurricanes that have made landfall this season, most recently by Hurricane Laura which was the tenth-strongest US hurricane on record and left more than 30 people dead. 

The battered Louisiana coast is bracing for Hurricane Delta which is now at a devastating Category 3 strength with winds topping 120 mph

Delta will hit Louisiana Friday evening before moving up through New Orleans and Memphis over the weekend 

Delta's path of destruction. It is expected to weaken over the weekend as it moves northeast Saturday and Sunday 

The National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm was about 160 miles south of Cameron, Louisiana, early Friday morning.

The storm had maintained its top winds of around 120 mph making it an extremely dangerous Category 3 hurricane.

At midday, the storm was 80 miles south-southwest of Cameron and blustery winds and rain had begun hitting the area. 

As predicted, Delta then weakened slightly by 2 p.m. ET to a 110 mph, strong Category 2 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

However, even with the downgrade the storm surge will still be devastating when it plows into the Louisiana coastline around 6p.m. and an upgrade could be on the cards as Delta is just one mile per hour shy of returning to a Category 3.

It could also unleash tornadoes as it moves over land and drop up to 10 inches of rain. 

Delta's destructive path to Louisiana comes after it lashed the Caribbean coast of Mexico on Wednesday, when it made landfall around 5:30 a.m. with top winds of 110 mph.

Officials reported no deaths or injuries but hundreds of tourists were forced to take refuge in storm shelters after it struck just south of the popular Mexican holiday resort of Cancun.

Around 266,000 customers - one-third of residents - on the Yucatan peninsula were left without power, trees were toppled along the coast and stores were damaged. 

Delta weakened to a Category 1 storm later that afternoon, before strengthening again as it moved over the southern Gulf, rising to maximum sustained winds of 90 mph by Wednesday night.

This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image shows Hurricane Delta moving towards the US around 8 a.m. EST Friday

Trump tweeted late Friday morning that the storm was on its way and FEMA was 'there and ready'

Throughout Thursday, Delta gained strength becoming a Category 3 storm as it headed across the open waters of the Gulf toward the US.  

As Delta churned north at 12 mph Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center had a hurricane warning in place for the Gulf Coast extending from High Island, Texas, to Morgan City. 

Shortly after dawn, the first tropical storm-force winds were reaching the coast, even as the eye of the hurricane was about 160 miles south of Cameron.

Rivers were already full and local street flooding was reported from the coast to Baton Rouge inland, while tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain battered parts of the Louisiana and Texas coasts by midday. 

Forecasters said the 25th named storm of an unprecedented Atlantic hurricane season would likely crash ashore somewhere on southwest Louisiana's coast.  

It is expected to hit hard the very same areas ravaged by Hurricane Laura just six weeks ago. 

Debris still on the ground from the last storm makes the situation more perilous as it will become potential projectiles damaging already weakened structures in the area.  

Rainfall will also top more than 10 inches along the coast and inland over the Mississippi and Tennessee Valley. 

Delta will then weaken quickly over the weekend as it moves northeast through New Orleans and Memphis, forecasters said. 

An overturned 18-wheeler adds more traffic as people evacuate from Lake Charles, Louisiana, as Hurricane Delta approaches

Thousands of people are under mandatory evacuation orders in communities including Cameron Parish and Calcasieu Parish and the Louisiana National Guard has set up shelters to take in displaced residents

A resident looks through his home in Lake Charles that has already been destroyed by Hurricane Laura and is now in the path of Delta

Roof repair from Laura is shown in Lake Charles as residents brace for the latest devastating storm to hit the area 

Members of the Louisiana National Guard prepare beds in a shelter ahead of Hurricane Delta

Families start arriving at a shelter in Louisiana as the state prepares for the sixth storm or hurricane since June 

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Hurricane Delta: 

Louisiana residents have hunkered down in preparation for the hurricane with streets in Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana deserted by Friday morning.  

Louisiana received a federal emergency declaration with Governor John Bel Edwards warning 'we've got people who are very tired' from the last freak weather event.

Walmart said it was closing many of its stores across the Gulf Coast as a precaution while energy companies halted 92 percent, or nearly 1.7 million barrels per day of offshore oil output, and 62 percent of natural gas production.

The US Coast Guard closed ports from Beaumont, Texas, to Lake Charles ahead of the storm. 

People in this battered coastal region are taking Delta seriously.

'You can always get another house another car but not another life,' said Hilton Stroder as he and his wife Terry boarded up their Abbeville home with plans to head to their son's house further east.

'People of Lake Charles and in Cameron Parish have already suffered enough, and then here comes this one,' said Desi Milligan, who owns an RV park in Cameron that was heavily damaged by Laura. 

In Abbeville, Tony Russo said 2020 had 'been a hell of a year' as he stockpiled groceries Thursday.

'I don't know really any different,' he said when asked his reaction to the busy storm season. 'You're here. If you love it you stay,' he said. 

Residents attach wood to their front door while preparing for Hurricane Delta on Thursday in Cypremort Point, Louisiana 

Damage from Hurricane Laura is viewed in advance of Hurricane Delta, expected to make landfall Friday, in Cameron

Residents board up the windows of St. John Baptist Church while prepping for Hurricane Delta on Thursday in Charenton, Louisiana

Super sand sacks are placed at the top of the exposed and damaged 'burrito' levee in preparation for Hurricane Delta storm surge in Grand Isle, Louisiana, Thursday

Debris, still not picked up from Hurricane Laura, lies piled up in advance of Hurricane Delta in Cameron, Louisiana Thursday

This marks the sixth time this season that Louisiana has been threatened by tropical storms or hurricanes.   

One fizzled at the southeast Louisiana tip and others veered elsewhere but Tropical Storm Cristobal caused damage in southeast Louisiana in June. 

And Laura demolished much of the southwestern part of the state on August 27, causing more than 30 deaths. 

As Delta becomes the fourth to make landfall in Louisiana this hurricane season, the state prepares to set a grim record for the joint hardest hit season in its history. There was also four landfall hurricanes in 2002. 

Nationwide, Delta will become the 10th US landfall hurricane this season, breaking the previous record of nine set back in 1916.  

Reminders of the state's last catastrophe - Laura - are everywhere in the region. 

In nearby Bell City, some debris piles are more than 6 feet high and 75 feet ( long.   

Though homes and farmhouses in the area still stood, blue tarms covered many rooftops with lingering damage from Laura. 

In Cameron Parish, power poles along Highway 27 in a desolate stretch of marsh were all either broken or leaning - none appeared to have been repaired since the August storm.

A few miles down the road, Creole presented a scene of utter devastation under an overcast sky that soon gave way to pouring rain. 

Wind, wave and power outage for parts of Louisiana impacted by Delta 

Where there used to be buildings, exposed slabs remained. A church and a convenience store had been reduced to debris, and fences were blown over or completely torn down. 

New Orleans, well east of the projected landfall area, was expected to escape Delta's worst impacts. 

But tropical storm force winds were still likely in the city on Friday, and local officials said they were preparing for the possibility of tornadoes.

And in Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency like his counterpart Edwards did in Louisiana. 

Forecasters said southern Mississippi could see heavy rain and flash flooding. 

A car leaves Cameron Thursday past a building destroyed by Hurricane Laura

Debris, still not picked up from Hurricane Laura, lies piled up in advance of Hurricane Delta, which is expected to hit the same area of Louisiana

Louisiana has been rocked by six storms or hurricanes this season