Laura approaches the coast of the Gulf of Mexico 2:21
(CNN) - Laura grew into a hurricane Tuesday and is expected to intensify rapidly in the next 36 hours as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico toward Texas and Louisiana.
"Now that #Laura's eye is forming, there is little doubt that this will be a large and extremely dangerous hurricane for East Texas and Louisiana," tweeted Eric Blake, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center (NHC). , for its acronym in English). "It's sobering to watch… please be smart if you're on the road."
Hurricane Laura currently has maximum sustained winds of 136 km / h, according to an NHC bulletin, and is forecast to intensify into a major Category 3 or greater hurricane the following day, with winds potentially reaching 185 km / h. The center of the storm is 750 km from Galveston, Texas, and is moving at a speed of 27 km / h.
A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of the Texas and Louisiana coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The warning, an update to the previous hurricane watch, extends from San Luis Pass, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana.
The advisory includes Galveston and Galveston Bay, as well as parts of the greater Houston area.
The NHC warned that Laura is expected to produce 10 to 20 centimeters of rain from Wednesday night through Saturday, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches in parts of the Gulf Coast. This could cause widespread urban and flash flooding, the NHC said.
Laura's imminent arrival comes after the Gulf Coast avoided a powerful storm in Marco, which weakened significantly before reaching the US.
As a tropical storm, Laura killed more than 20 people in the Caribbean. When it makes landfall in the United States, it could bring a storm surge of 2.7 to 3.3 meters along parts of the coast, the NWS said, and the storm surge could "penetrate up to 50 km inland," in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
LOOK : The Texas city where Hurricane Laura will make landfall is almost deserted
Evacuations off the coast of Texas and Louisiana
Galveston.
Houston, the largest city in the region, is particularly vulnerable to flooding and could suffer some impacts from Laura. The concrete city has notoriously poor drainage systems and a propensity for flooding, such as during the overwhelming rain from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Laura's potential trajectory and rapid intensification are more like Hurricane Rita in September 2005, the last time the hurricane made landfall in Louisiana. Rita arrived just a month after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, and its imminent approach prompted massive evacuations and traffic jams on Texas roads.
More than 100 people died in Texas due to evacuations, including 24 evacuations from nursing homes aboard a bus that caught fire and exploded.
Laura's threat has already prompted evacuations in parts of Texas and Louisiana.
Galveston issued a mandatory evacuation order for all residents, citing the strength of the storm and the uncertain path, according to a post on the city's website.
"We stopped by Ike in 2008. We learned a lesson," Galveston Mayor Pro Tem Craig Brown told CNN's Erin Burnett, "and a lot of people don't want to repeat that, which is why many of our residents are heeding the warning, and also we have provided transportation for those who need assistance. '
An estimated 20,000 residents remained in Galveston during Hurricane Ike, which devastated much of the island.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in several coastal Texas counties, including Jefferson, Jasper and Hardin counties, authorities said.
A mandatory evacuation was also announced for Calcasieu Parish in Southwest Louisiana, and non-essential personnel were ordered to leave the parish.
Voluntary evacuations were issued for parts of Houston on Tuesday.
At the same time, government agencies and voluntary organizations mobilized to prepare for the approaching storm.
Texas previously deployed two urban search and rescue (USAR) teams and at least eight water rescue squads, according to a spokesperson for one of the teams.
"The uncertainties of this storm and its increasing strength have prompted mandatory evacuations for more than 300,000 residents in East Texas and along the Gulf Coast," Merribeth Kahlich, a public information officer for one of the search teams, by email.
The American Red Cross repositioned 700 relief workers and supplies prior to Hurricane Laura, the group said.
Gradient frame to tropical depression
Since Marco does not pose an imminent threat, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Monday night, all eyes are on Laura. Her great concern was the large amounts of rain and the flooding of the rivers.
"There will be a storm surge impact, there will be a wind impact, there will be a rain impact," said the governor.
The Gulf was predicted to be in danger of consecutive powerful storms with Laura hitting for miles and 48 hours after Marco.
Edwards worried earlier in the week that "there may not be much scope" for power restoration and rescue efforts between storms.
But Marco made landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River as a tropical storm, and later that night it was downgraded once again to a tropical depression.
Overnight, Marco was traveling west along the Louisiana coast, but will likely disappear over open water as he heads toward Texas, CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said.
The tornadoes and storm surge that Marco threatened to bring with him as he moved along the Gulf Coast are no longer a cause for concern, Guy said. However, the storm could still bring rain and localized areas could see up to five inches of precipitation.
9 people killed in the Caribbean
At least nine people have died in the Caribbean, including several in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, due to Laura.
The victims include a 7-year-old boy who died along with his mother after a wall collapsed at their home in the Dominican Republic. Another person died after a tree fell on a house.
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said an army corporal was killed while helping with rescue efforts in Pedernales province.
At least 21 people died in Haiti, the country's Communications Ministry reported.
CNN's Devon M. Sayers, Holly Yan, and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
Hurricane Laura
