Hurricane Laura will strengthen "quickly" this Wednesday before hitting the coasts of Texas and Louisiana tonight or Thursday, as reported by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States. The cyclone is already category three, out of a maximum of five, but is expected to climb one level before hitting US soil.
The NHC has warned that "Laura can produce a potentially catastrophic storm surge, extreme winds, and flash flooding along the northwest coast of the Gulf of Mexico." The agency has also urged the population of these areas to "hasten to complete the necessary actions to protect their life and property."
At least 20 million people reside in the region that will be affected by Laura and half a million of the most vulnerable areas have already been evacuated. The hurricane is 450 kilometers from Lake Charles, Louisiana, and 465 kilometers from Galveston, Texas. The NHC expects it to land tonight or Thursday morning, where it will begin to weaken once it hits.
The specialized center warned that it is a large hurricane whose strongest winds extend up to 110 kilometers from its center and the least strong up to 280 kilometers. Laura's great fear is the flooding caused by the storm surge (with “ big and destructive waves ”, according to the NHC), the tide and the rains. The water threatens to reach a height of three to 4.5 meters.
Before entering the Gulf of Mexico, where it has become a hurricane this Tuesday, Laura swept with its winds and rain in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands, where she has left a dozen dead.
Experts are comparing Laura to Harvey, a category four hurricane that caused catastrophic flooding and caused $ 125 billion in damage in Texas and Louisiana around this time in 2017. Harvey was formed on August 17 and did not dissipate until August 17. September 2, 2017 and it is estimated that it caused a hundred direct and indirect deaths.
Laura is the first “major hurricane” (of a category greater than three) in this hurricane season in the Atlantic, which has been forecast to be very active. So far 13 storms have formed, of which four have been hurricanes: Hanna, Isaias, Marco and Laura.