USA: Hurricane "Laura" gains strength off the coast

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Satellite image of "Laura": Extremely dangerous hurricane

Hurricane "Laura" is currently over the Gulf of Mexico - but it could soon hit the US coast with force. US meteorologists expect the cyclone to quickly reach magnitude four out of five, making it an extremely dangerous hurricane. That comes from a tweet from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The hurricane center therefore considers a life-threatening storm surge with large and dangerous waves, extreme winds and flash floods in eastern Texas and parts of Louisiana to be possible. According to the forecast, the storm should come close to the coast on Wednesday evening (local time) and later move inland. The storm is expected to weaken after it hits the mainland.

Well-built houses could also be badly damaged, according to a later tweet by the NHC. People in the areas likely to be affected should expect uprooted trees and several days to weeks without water and electricity.

"You only have a few hours to prepare or escape," warned Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Twitter. "Wherever you will be today at noon, that is where you will have to weather the storm."

Residents of low-lying areas of Texas and Louisiana had already prepared for the cyclone on Tuesday. People hammered chipboard in front of windows, piled sandbags to protect against flooding, or fled to higher areas.

In Louisiana, the streets of New Orleans were empty. Almost 15 years ago to the day, 80 percent of the city was inundated by Hurricane Katrina, killing more than 1,800 people.

People died in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

On "Laura's" course through the Caribbean, at least 25 people had died in Haiti and the Dominican Republic in the past few days. The storm caused severe damage in Cuba. In the Gulf of Mexico, more than a hundred oil platforms have been cleared as a precaution.

The US climate agency NOAA predicts that 2020 could be a record year for hurricanes. 19 to 25 storms are expected, of which seven to eleven could become hurricanes, three to six even very strong with wind speeds of 178 kilometers per hour and more.

In average years there are twelve storms on the Atlantic coast, three of which develop into category three, four or five hurricanes. The cyclone season ends in late November.

kko / dpa