Story at a glance
- Hurricane Laura intensified into a Category 4 storm Wednesday afternoon.
- Forecasters said the hurricane could cause as much as 13 feet of storm surge as well as flash flooding and tornadoes on land.
- More than 500,000 people have been ordered to evacuate coastal areas.
Hurricane Laura has intensified into a Category 4 storm as it barrels toward the Texas-Louisiana border and will produce “unsurvivable storm surge,” according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Laura quickly intensified into a major Category 4 storm Wednesday afternoon with maximum winds of 140 mph.
1 PM CDT: #Laura is now an extremely dangerous category 4 hurricane with maximum winds of 140 MPH. Little time remains to protect life and property before water levels begin to rise and winds increase in the warning areas https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/6f9tvionaR
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2020
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The hurricane is expected to make landfall just after midnight Thursday morning between Houston and Lake Charles, La. Hurricane and storm surge warnings are in place for much of the region.
“Unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage from Sea Rim State Park, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, including Calcasieu and Sabine Lakes,” the National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday. “This surge could penetrate up to 30 miles from inland from the immediate coastline.”
Forecasters said the hurricane could cause as much as 13 feet of storm surge as well as flash flooding and tornadoes on land. Widespread flash flooding along small streams, urban areas and roads is expected to begin this afternoon into Thursday from far eastern Texas, across Louisiana and Arkansas, according to the NHC.
It’s possible Laura may hit near high tide, potentially inundating coastal areas of western Louisiana to the Texas border with 15 to 20 feet of water.
More than 500,000 people have been ordered to evacuate coastal areas.
“The current forecast would rank Hurricane Laura as high as 5th all-time in a list of the highest storm surges from 1880-2010 along the US Gulf Coast,” meteorologist Eric Holthaus tweeted.
Hurricane Laura is on pace to be “the most powerful storm to strike Louisiana in over a century” in terms of wind speed.
And yes, that includes Katrina. https://t.co/BzwfgHsFvM
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) August 26, 2020
“Hurricane Laura is now in the same company as Camille (1969), Katrina (2005), Ike (2008), Rita (2005), and Galveston (1900) as one of the biggest hurricane threats in recorded history on the US Gulf Coast. That is terrifying,” he said.
Over the weekend, the storm moved through the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti leaving at least 23 people dead and more than 1 million without power.
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