Tropical storms Marco and Laura threaten to become hurricanes as they gain strength and approach the United States coast.
After entering the Gulf of Mexico Saturday afternoon, Marco threatens to become a hurricane later this Sunday , as it moves toward the Louisiana coast, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
[Can two hurricanes collide? And join in a mega storm? For the first time in history, it can occur in the Gulf of Mexico]
In Louisiana, authorities have asked the people of Plaquemines Parish County to leave their homes.
Marco is located about 395 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and 185 miles west of Cuba, and is moving north-northwest at 13 miles per hour, with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour.
[The passage of Storm Laura leaves 200,000 in Puerto Rico without power. Mississippi and Louisiana brace for a double hit]
A hurricane watch has already been issued for the Louisiana coast, from Morgan City to the mouth of the Pearl River.
A resident of Salinas, Puerto Rico, after the passage of Tropical Storm Laura, this Saturday.AP / Carlos Giusti
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, who declared a state of emergency on Friday, asked President Donald Trump for a federal emergency declaration due to the "cumulative impact" of these storms that will affect the area over a "much longer period of time." than with any hurricane. "
[Tropical Storm Cristóbal enters the Gulf of Mexico and heads for Louisiana. New Orleans declares emergency]
"We are in unprecedented times," Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said at a news conference Saturday where he declared a state of emergency. " We are dealing not only with two possible storms in the next few hours, we are also dealing with COVID-19 ."
According to the NHC, the two storms will be in the Gulf together early next week. It would be the first time that two hurricanes have appeared in the Gulf of Mexico simultaneously , based on records dating back to at least 1900, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
[ Dos and don'ts during and after a hurricane ]
Meanwhile, Laura's torrential rains hit the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) early this Sunday and is expected to move over Cuba later this day.
Laura was located about 95 miles east of Port-au-Prince, Haiti with maximum sustained winds of 4 5 miles per hour .
A car trapped in the water after Tropical Storm Laura hit Salinas, Puerto Rico, on Saturday.AP / Carlos Giusti
The storm already left more than 100,000 people without water across the country, Saturday night. Hours earlier, he felled trees and left more than 200,000 people in Puerto Rico without power.
Officials in the Florida Keys , who Laura could touch on her route to the Gulf, declared a local state of emergency on Friday and issued a mandatory evacuation order for all who live on boats, in mobile homes and in campers.