HOUSTON -- Hurricane Humberto weakened to a tropical storm with 65-mph winds as it assaulted southwestern Louisiana.
At least on death has been blamed on the storm, Texas officials said.
Bridge City Police Chief Steve Faircloth said a man died Thursday morning when a carport fell on him at his home in the Southeast Texas city between Port Arthur and Orange.
The man's identity was being withheld until residents are notified.
The hurricane swept through the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange area this morning, leaving about 100,000 Entergy customers without power.
The area had expected a tropical storm Thursday, at worst. Instead, it got a Category 1 hurricane.
A Hurricane Center official said the storm strengthened from a tropical depression with 35-mph winds to a hurricane with 85-mph winds in just 18 hours.
The storm made landfall early Thursday morning about five miles east of High Island, near Sea Rim State Park.
Rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches were expected across much of Louisiana, Mississippi and far southeastern Arkansas, with isolated maximum accumulations of 12 inches possible, according to the National Weather Service.
Isolated tornadoes were possible in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi through Thursday night, the Weather Service said.
Humberto is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by early Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
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