Laura hitting this Thursday with strong winds the coast of Louisiana, where it impacted at dawn like a Category 4 hurricane that forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from this southern state of the United States and its neighbor Texas in view of the prospect of “catastrophic” floods.
The meteor made landfall in Cameron, Louisiana, at Category 4, with winds of 240 km / h. In accordance with CNNIt is the strongest storm recorded in the region in more than 160 years, being comparable with a hurricane that occurred in 1856, which also reached winds of 240 km / h when it touched land.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Laura entered Louisiana at 15 mph as a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained winds of 195 km / h with stronger gusts. Later it was downgraded to category 2, maintaining winds of up to 110 km / h.
“COVER UP NOW! Treat these impending extreme winds like a tornado approaching and immediately move to a safe room in your shelter. “the NHC warned on Twitter. “Protect your life,” she insisted.
“Catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding are happening in parts of Louisiana,” the NHC warned.
Added to the high tide, those swells -which is expected to penetrate about 65 km inland- they could cause water to rise 4.5 to 6 meters above normal level.
Also, there were heavy rains that were forecast to reach between 130 and 250 millimeters, with some peaks of almost 400 mm in western Louisiana and eastern Texas.
Both states are home to large oil refining centers. More than 100 oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated as a precaution.
Run away from Laura
Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned Laura had “unprecedented” potency and urged residents to “get out of the way” of the hurricane.
Speaking on the third night of the Republican convention, Vice President Mike Pence urged people on the path of the storm to “pay attention to state and local authorities.”
The National Guard reported the mobilization of more than 1,000 troops in Texas to assist in the response to the hurricane, as well as 20 aircraft and more than 15 shelter teams.
Cities potentially in Laura’s path and under mandatory evacuation orders include Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, which they were severely damaged by Hurricane Harvey three years ago, which killed 68 people.
Avoid contagion
Angela Jouett, who leads the evacuation operation in Lake Charles, Louisiana, said new protocols had been put in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“People who enter (evacuees centers) spray their hands with disinfectant”, have “temperature controls” and maintain a physical distance of two meters.
In the Texas town of La Porte, near Houston, where there was a voluntary evacuation order, people stocked up on basic necessities.
“I’m a little nervous, but I also say, ‘Ok, I know I’m going to be safe inside my apartment,” Matthew Jones, a 28-year-old security guard, who was stocking up on groceries, told Agence France-Presse.
Further east, in Port Arthur, near the Louisiana border, Jannette Zinos was gathering her family to evacuate. “I really need to go. I am afraid that the house will fall on us ”, he affirmed.
Patricia Como, an evacuee from Lake Charles, Louisiana, noted that her family members had decided to stay, but she didn’t want to risk it. “I’m not going to play with God,” he said.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said on Twitter that parts of the interstate highway (I-10), which connects the entire southern United States, have been closed and urged evacuees to head north to “bypass closures and avoid impossible conditions to drive ”.
“There will be parts of Lake Charles that no living human being has seen underwater before,” he added to WWL Radio.
The memory of Katrina
In New Orleans, devastated in 2005 by Category 5 Hurricane Katrina, the historic French Quarter was emptied of tourists, sandbags were stacked in front of doors and windows, and colonial architecture buildings were protected with veneer.
“I’m not worried about the water coming in with the storm, I’m worried about the rain and the pumps not working, and that’s what will cause the floods,” Robert Dunalp, a business owner, told AFP. remembering Katrina, which left 1,800 dead and enormous damage.
Laura passed through Cuba as a tropical storm on Monday, causing heavy rains, heavy swells and some damage, after crossing the island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where she left a wake of 25 deaths.
This Atlantic storm season, which runs through November, is expected to be one of the toughest. The NHC is forecasting up to 25 storms and Laura is the twelfth so far, while Marco, who was once a hurricane, dissipated off the Louisiana coast Tuesday before making landfall.
NEW: buildings completely gutted, glass falling everywhere in downtown Lake Charles, LA in the eye of #HurricaneLaura @RadarOmega_WX pic.twitter.com/o1nkGLgUiB
– Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) August 27, 2020
???????????? SOUND UP
Listen to the wind inside this casino in Lake Charles as Hurricane Laura rips across the region with reports of winds over 120 mph! We’re live with team coverage as the storm continues to impact the coastline and move inland. #HurricaneLaura #LAwx pic.twitter.com/1KQjuAiuCk
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) August 27, 2020
EYE WALL of powerful #HurricaneLaura in Lake Charles, LA with the Dominator Fore and HERV taking some debris. Sadly there is a lot of damage, likely catastrophic to the south. We are waiting for sunrise to drive to Holly Beach and retrieve windy palms @MikeTheiss pic.twitter.com/WwNUjwfruu
– Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) August 27, 2020
Communication towers are completely collapsed in downtown Lake Charles, LA #lawx #HurricaneLaura pic.twitter.com/LWhT0qQtL5
— Stephen Jones (@Tornado_Steejo) August 27, 2020
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