Laura claims first life as 150mph hurricane pounds US Gulf Coast

HURRICANE Laura, the most powerful storm to hit the United States this year, claimed its first fatality yesterday as it swept through Texas and Louisiana with officials warning the hurricane threatens an “unsurvivable storm surge” on the Gulf Coast.

John Bel Edwards, Louisiana’s governor, said the hurricane had caused “extensive” damage, destroying buildings in the city of Lake Charles and kill- ing a 14-year-old girl in the city of Leesville when a tree fell on her house.

Mr Edwards said more fatalities were expected as the hurricane moves inland. It had made landfall in the early morning as the most powerful storm to hit the state in 150 years.

It first pounded western Louisiana just before 1am on Thursday as a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds up to 150mph and massive storm surge.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that Laura will cause “catastrophic conditions” as it progresses, sparking concern for residents in the path of the storm who chose not to heed evacuation advice.

More than 650,000 homes and businesses were without power in Texas and Louisiana yesterday.

Some of the worst damage was caused at a chemical facility near Lake Charles which had caught fire in the storm’s wake. Laura later weakened to a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 75mph (120kph), and was forecast to become a tropical storm later in the day.

However, the NHC predicted that high water levels would persist along the Gulf Coast for several hours as Laura moved north and then northeast, posing a threat to life. The NHC warned that an “unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage from Sea Rim state park, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana”.

The storm also slammed the heart of the US oil industry, forcing oil rigs and refineries to shut down production.

The eastern coastal counties of Texas, that had braced for the worst, were largely spared but Laura was expected to spawn tornadoes yesterday over Louisiana, Arkansas and western Mississippi. It was expected to drop between 4-8in of rain across portions of that region, the NHC said.

650,000

The number of homes and businesses left without power as the storm hit Texas and Louisiana, with fears of a sea surge