MONSTER IN THE GULF
LAURA TO LASH LA., TEXAS WITH 100-MPH WINDS
Hurricane Laura strengthened to a Category 1 tempest Tuesday as it traveled through the Gulf of Mexico toward Texas and Louisiana while a half-million people were told to evacuate.
Landfall was expected early Thursday, with the bull’s-eye hovering between Galveston and Lafayette.
Forecasters said Laura could gather enough energy while churning over the gulf ’s warm waters to become a Category 3 hurricane by late Wednesday.
If that happens, violent winds, storm surges and flooding are expected to cause significant property damage and power outages, experts said.
More than 431,000 homes along the Texas and Louisiana coasts were at potential risk of suffering more than $88.6 billion in damage based on Tuesday projections from the data analysis firm CoreLogic.
“This will not just be a coastal event. Strong winds and heavy rainfall (and) flooding are likely to occur well inland along the storm’s path,” the National Hurricane Center said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott urged coastal residents “to heed the guidance of local officials, follow evacuation orders and remain vigilant.”
“Hurricane Laura is rapidly intensifying and poses a major threat to communities in Southeast Texas,” he said in a statement.
“Texans in the path of this storm should waste no time preparing for the impact of Hurricane Laura and take immediate action to keep themselves and their loved ones safe,” he said.
“Those who stay behind may be caught in situations where rescue operations will be challenged,” Abbott added.
State officials ordered mandatory evacuations in the counties of Jefferson and Orange as well as the cities of Galveston and Port Arthur.
Voluntary evacuations were recommended for Chambers County and parts of Harris County as well as the cities of Nassau Bay and Seabrook.
“Take action now. Take only essential items you need,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said as she started requesting the voluntary evacuations in the Houston area. “If you have a choice between going north or going west, go west.”
Hidalgo reminded residents the leading causes of death from such weather events are drowning and
flood-related injuries.
“Do not think of storm surge as just a really bad tide, a really high tide. It is deadly, and you can’t outrun it at the last minute,” she said.
“The winds forecast for Hurricane #Laura will reach speeds higher than 100 mph and will affect North, South and Central Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a tweet.
The Gulf Coast had been bracing for possible back-toback hurricanes this week, but Tropical Storm Marco lost considerable steam before it made landfall near the Mississippi River on Monday night.
The remnants of Marco, measuring winds of just 30 mph Tuesday, were expected to dissipate by Wednesday at the latest.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced it was evacuating three secure facilities and a portion of a fourth facility, along with three residential facilities in the Beaumont and Jasper areas, as it prepared for Marco and Laura.
The moves were due to affect about 3,600 offenders.
Laura pummeled Cuba as a tropical storm on Sunday and Monday, destroying crops and homes and washing away a bridge in the southern municipality of Buey Arriba.