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Laura degrades to a tropical storm after causing extensive damage and deaths in Louisiana and Texas

2020-08-27T20:13:13.040Z


The effects of the hurricane, which made landfall early Thursday in Louisiana, are also affecting East Texas. There are more than half a million evacuees.


Hurricane Laura downgraded to a tropical storm, with winds of 70 miles per hour, after making landfall as a Category 4 in southwestern Louisiana, near the Texas border, around 2 a.m. EDT. It brought with it storm surges defined by experts as "impossible to survive" and winds that can cause "catastrophic damage."

This was the arrival of Hurricane Laura in Louisiana

Aug. 27, 202001: 01

It is one of the most devastating hurricanes to hit the United States and it is still extremely dangerous , experts warn.  

Laura is also the most intense hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana in 164 years.

The point at which Laura made landfall is near Cameron, Louisiana. The storm now has maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour after hitting Category 5 (starting at 157 miles per hour). 

This was the arrival of Hurricane Laura in Louisiana

Aug. 27, 202001: 01

However, tornadoes are possible in parts of Louisiana, Arkansas, and western Mississippi.

Ground zero devastation in Louisiana where Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4

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President Trump said Thursday at a Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) briefing that he will likely examine the damage caused by Hurricane Laura over the weekend.

The president reported that he considered delaying his acceptance speech to the Republican National Convention tonight, depending on the severity of the storm, but will go ahead with initial plans.

"It turned out that we were a bit lucky, it was very big, it was very powerful, but it happened quickly, so everything is on schedule," Trump said.

Hurricane Laura's planned path across the United States NBC News

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards reported Thursday at a press conference that at least four people lost their lives in the state as a result of the hurricane.

All of the deaths were caused by falling trees, according to Edwards. 

One of the victims is a 14-year-old teenager, who died in Vernon.

In Iota, Acadia Sheriff KP Gibson confirmed the death of a 60-year-old man also by falling from a tree.

The other two deaths occurred in Jackson.

One death has been reported in Texas , but the governor of that state, Greg Abbott, has not been able to confirm that death.

"We dodged the bullet," Abbott said of Hurricane Laura passing through that state, although he alerted the population to potential tornadoes and floods that are forecast as the storm passes through Texas.

The governor, who took a plane tour over the areas affected by Laura, reported that Orange County has been the most affected by Laura's force and that he declared 62 counties as disaster areas, as did the president of the United States , Donald Trump.

“We are going to help them rebuild,” Abbott said of the damage suffered by Laura, which has left more than 160,000 homes without power.

He also stressed that the evacuation orders "saved and minimized the loss of life." "You have to listen to the authorities about when is the best time to return," Abbott urged the population in order to avoid tragedies.

He also announced that Texas "will mobilize its resources to help our neighbors," in reference to the extensive damage that the storm has left in Louisiana.

Alert in Texas for flash floods in the wake of Hurricane Laura

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In both states, more than 500,000 homes are affected by blackouts.

The National Hurricane Center forecasts that the storm will continue to move through Texas on Thursday, reaching Arkansas at night and over the central Mississippi Valley on Friday. It is also expected to reach Nashville, Tennessee, and even hit the city of Boston in the coming days.

Videos on social media show how strong winds and rain hit a tall building in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where Laura's eye passed,  smashing windows and throwing glass and debris into the air and onto the ground

A building destroyed after the eye of Hurricane Laura passed through southwestern Louisiana early Thursday morning AFP via Getty Images / AFP via Getty Images

The authorities had implored in the preceding hours the inhabitants of the most affected area, on the coasts of Louisiana and Texas , to seek refuge in safer places. More than half a million people received evacuation orders. However, not all did, according to The Associated Press news agency. 

This is how Laura's journey through the US will be, she will pass through Nashville and Boston, but with less force

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"It looks like it's in total beast mode , which is not what you'd want to see when you're on its way," Laura Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami, said of the story. Hundreds of thousands of people were affected by power outages in Louisiana and Texas.

Homeland Security Secretary Alex Azar has issued an emergency declaration for Louisiana and Texas as Laura draws closer. 

In Lake Charles, some people who were not evacuated are asking for help. "People are calling but there is no way to reach them," Tony Guillory, chairman of the Calcasieu parish police jury, told AP by phone. takes refuge in a city government building. 

Guillory said he hopes the stranded people can be rescued later Thursday, but fears that blocked roads, downed power lines and flooding caused by Laura will get in the way. Officials added that search and rescue missions and damage assessments would begin when conditions allowed.

The governor of Louisiana assured that the state closed Interstate 10, from the area around the Atchafalaya Bridge on the outskirts of Lafayette to part of Texas, because several sections within that area are expected to flood.

Some of the people who decided to leave their homes to take refuge on Wednesday found themselves without a place to stay, according to the AP. Texas authorities avoided opening massive shelters due to fears that coronavirus infections could occur, as the pandemic still raises much concern in the area. 

Hundreds of Latino workers in Louisiana fail to evacuate before Laura's arrival

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The evacuees were then assigned to hotels, but several found themselves without a place in Austin and on the outskirts of Dallas. KXAN, a local NBC affiliate, reported Wednesday afternoon that Austin authorities planned to open a congress center as a refuge for people in need. 

Laura came to the United States after killing nearly two dozen people on the island of Hispaniola , including 20 in Haiti and three in the Dominican Republic, where she caused power outages and caused severe flooding.

With information from NBC News, AP, KXAN and CNN.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2020-08-27

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