Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana after 2am local time.
What We Know:
- The hurricane was nearly upgraded to a Category 5 storm before landfall, coming within 7 mph of the required windspeed. Comparatively, 2005’s Hurricane Katrina was only a Category 3.
- Tornado warnings were also issued across parts of Texas and Louisiana, in effect until 8am on Thursday morning.
- Laura tied the record for strongest hurricane to hit Louisiana with 150mph winds at landfall. The previous storm to reach this intensity was the Last Island Storm in 1856.
- More than 500,000 people were ordered to evacuate from Louisiana and Texas as the National Weather Service provided warnings to locals. “Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.”
- Local authorities warned residents who chose to stay behind that rescue efforts would only begin if conditions were safe enough to do so. In Vermilion Parish in Louisiana, the sheriff’s office issued a grave statement:
“If you choose to stay and we can’t get to you, write your name, address, social security number and next of kin and put it a ziplock bag in your pocket.”
- The National Hurricane Center provided a detailed update including methods to stay safe at 3am EST.
The 300 AM CDT Update for Hurricane #Laura: Eyewall of Laura pushing inland across southwestern Louisiana. Catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding ongoing. More on Laura at https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb or local weather https://t.co/SiZo8ozBbn pic.twitter.com/W94oiK4i9j
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 27, 2020
- As of 7:45am EST, nearly 450,000 people across Louisiana and Texas were without power amidst the chaos of the storm.
At 7am EST, the storm was downgraded to a Category 2 storm, but is still considered very dangerous. The National Hurricane center has warned that this storm could cause an “unsurvivable storm surge”.
