Before the storm weakened rapidly, people feared a large storm surge over much of southeastern Louisiana. Preparing for the storm induced stress, which in one person contributed a fatal heart attack. In Louisiana, a compact, rapidly weakening Hurricane Ethel brought significant wind and rain primarily east and southeast of New Orleans. However, the storm caused a maximum surge of only . Although Ethel weakened significantly, the hurricane still lashed far southeastern Louisiana. At the United States Coast Guard station in Quarantine in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, sustained winds reached . A weather station in Venice reported a sustained wind speed of and gusts to . Rainfall totals included at Quarantine, at Hopedale, at Buras, at Burrwood, and at Port Sulfur.