In the United States, hurricane Nate has come ashore on a sparsely populated area at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Nate was forecast to make its second landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, and threatened to inundate homes and businesses. The center of the storm passed to the east of New Orleans, sparing the city its most ferocious winds and storm surge system. <br/><br/>The city famous for all-night partying was placed under a curfew, effective at 7 pm (local time), but the mayor lifted it when it appeared the storm would cause little problems for the city. <br/><br/>Along the Mississippi coast, cities such as Gulfport and Biloxi were on high alert. Nate weakened slightly and was a Category 1 storm with maximum winds of 137 kilometres per hour when it made landfall in a sparsely populated area of Plaquemines Parish. <br/><br/>Governors in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama declared states of emergency. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards urged residents to make final preparations quickly and stressed that Nate will bring the possibility of storm surge reaching up to 11 feet in some coastal areas.<br/><br/>With Nate marching to a second landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, gauges showed tides are 4 feet above normal from Shell Beach, Louisiana, east of New Orleans, to Bayou La Batre, Alabama, southwest of Mobile.<br/>