Hurricane Laura Slams Texas And Louisiana Coasts

Hurricane Laura slammed the Louisiana and Texas coasts early Thursday morning, battering the area with vicious winds of more than 150 MPH and pushing to land a wall of water that forecasters warned could reach 20-feet high.

The hurricane arrived in the overnight darkness as a Category 4 storm and continued to chug northward, dropping sheets of water that forecasters had forecast could flood streets and entire neighborhoods up to 40 miles inland.

Authorities had warned that Hurricane Laura could cause billions of dollars in damage, extensive loss of life and rank among the worst storms to hit the region in decades.

Buses of evacuees fled the Gulf Coast earlier in the day as Hurricane Laura moved in, strengthening into an "extremely dangerous" 4 storm. Forecasters warned of "unsurvivable" storm surges and that “large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage” to a roughly 150-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast.

The breadth and strength of the storm threatened not only the coast but large swaths of Texas and Louisiana and even areas farther north. Laura was considered an inland flood risk as far north and east as Arkansas and the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.

The current projected path showed Laura exiting back to sea somewhere along the Mid-Atlantic.

The surge of water could reach as high as 15 to 20 feet in places in Texas and Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center said. The surge could take days to recede.

Tornado warnings were issued in areas off the coast after night fell Wednesday, as outer bands from the hurricane began to lash areas inland.

Sustained winds of 150 miles per hour were recorded as the hurricane moved toward the coastline, leaving Laura just 7 miles short of Category 5 status.

People along dozens of miles of the Gulf Coast were bracing for the possibility of hurricane-level conditions, reaching from west of Galveston Island in Texas to Morgan City, La.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston urged residents to shelter in place.

Wind and water levels were already increasing Wednesday evening as Laura barreled toward land. Sustained tropical storm-force winds and steady heavy rain were beginning to spread onshore the central Louisiana coast late into the night.

According to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center, Laura gained the Category 4 force on Wednesday that weather officials had forecast. The storm is expected to rapidly weaken after moving inland, the forecast says, but could still cause substantial damage well off the coast.

Forecasters also described Laura as a large hurricane with winds extending up to 60 miles from the center of the storm and tropical storm-force winds extending farther, about 205 miles from the storm's center.

"The power of Hurricane Laura is unprecedented, and Texans must take action now to get out of harm's way and protect themselves," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. "The conditions of this storm are unsurvivable, and I urge Southeast Texans to take advantage of these final few hours to evacuate, secure their property, and take all precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe. The State of Texas is prepared to respond to the storm, and we are working alongside federal and local officials to keep Texans safe."

Texas has sent 400 buses, 38 aircraft, 82 boats, 202 high-profile vehicles and 60 ambulances ahead of landfall.

In the area where Hurricane Laura makes landfall, weather officials warned of damage to homes, uprooted trees and knocked out electric and water service that could last days or even weeks. The storm is the first major hurricane in the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

In the largest U.S. evacuation during this pandemic era, more than a half-million people were ordered Tuesday to flee from their homes near the Texas-Louisiana state line, including the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur, and the low-lying Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in southwestern Louisiana, where forecasters said storm surge topped by waves could submerge whole communities.

The storm grew nearly 87% in power in just 24 hours to a size the National Hurricane Center called “extremely dangerous.” Drawing energy from the warm Gulf of Mexico, the system was on track to arrive early Thursday during high tide as the most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S. so far this year.

Several warnings and watches were in effect as Laura moved closer toward landfall.

A hurricane warning was in effect for San Luis Pass, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana. A hurricane watch is in effect from east of Intracoastal City to west of Morgan City, Louisiana.

In the warning area, hurricane conditions were expected Wednesday night and Thursday and the storm is expected to cause catastrophic damage as the its eye moves onshore, officials warned. Hurricane-force winds and damaging wind gusts will spread inland across eastern Texas and Western Louisiana early Thursday, the forecast said.

A storm surge warning was in effect from San Luis Pass to the mouth of the Mississippi River, while a storm surge watch was suspended for the area east of the Mississippi River and for lakes Pontchartrain, Maurepas and Borgne in Louisiana.

Widespread flash flooding was forecast for far eastern Texas to across Louisiana and Arkansas. Anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of rain and isolated totals of up to 18 inches were expected from far southwest Louisiana and the Golden Triangle of Southeast Texas.

In central and western Louisiana and into far eastern Texas, 5 to 10 inches of rain were forecast with isolated totals of 15 inches. Arkansas will see 3 to 7 inches of rain with isolated totals of 10 inches, forecasters said.

Also, a tropical storm warning is in effect for Sargent, Texas, to San Luis Pass and east of Intracoastal City to the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was used in this report.