Hurricane Laura slams Louisiana, forecaster warns

Hurricane Laura made landfall early on Thursday in southwestern Louisiana as one of the most powerful storms to hit the state, with forecasters warning it could push a massive wall of water 40 miles (65 km) inland from the sea.

The National Weather Service said the storm surge, possibly higher than a two-storey house, could be "unsurvivable," acknowledging that as an unusually dire warning.

Laura crashed ashore around 1 a.m. Central Time (0600 GMT) as a Category 4 storm, the second strongest on the five-step scale, packing winds of 150 mph (240 kph) in the small town of

Cameron, Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

By 4 a.m., it had been downgraded to a Category 3 storm with the center about 30 miles (50 km) northnorthwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana, the hurricane center said. Besides threatening life, the storm was barreling toward the heart of the U.S. oil industry, forcing oil rigs and refineries to shut down production.

"The eyewall of Laura will continue to move inland across southwestern Louisiana during the next several hours," the NHC said in a early Thursday bulletin. Maximum sustained winds had slowed to 120 mph (195 kph), but were still strong enough to blow out windows in Lake Charles' 22-floor

Capital One Tower, social media imaged showed. Officials across the hard-hit area said it would be several hours before they could get out to begin search and rescue missions.

Downed trees blocking roadways were expected to be the biggest immediate challenge for rescuers.

About 620,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders in Louisiana and Texas, but officials acknowledged many people would choose to stay home. In Vermilion Parish, just east of Laura's landfall, the sheriff's office gave them a stark warning. "If you choose to stay and we can't get to you, write your name, address, social security number and next of kin.