Mass destruction and at least 6 deaths after Laura's passage through Louisiana and Texas

After making landfall early Thursday as one of the most powerful storm systems in Louisiana history, Laura has left at least six deaths, entire neighborhoods in ruins and more than 800,000 people without power.

The center of the Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of up to 150 miles per hour , settled over the Gulf of Mexico coast near Cameron, Louisiana, after midnight ET. And it degraded to a tropical storm with winds of 70 miles per hour eleven hours later, when it was already north in the state of Arkansas.

The first reported death was that of a 14-year-old girl in Leesville , Louisiana, a city 100 miles from the coast. According to the office of the governor of that state, John Edwards, the minor was killed by a tree that fell on her home.

This was the arrival of Hurricane Laura in Louisiana

A 68-year-old man from Iota, Louisiana, was also killed when a tree downed by the storm crashed into his home. Two other people lost their lives in Jackson Parish.

A 24-year-old man died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his home. Another drowned when his boat sank during the storm.

[Dos and don'ts during and after a hurricane]

In Texas, where part of Laura also passed, no fatalities have been reported so far, Gov. Greg Abbot reported, something he called "a miracle."

While the "un-survivable" swells of up to 20 feet that meteorologists had feared would form did not occur, the phenomenon caused a 12-foot rise in sea level in the Lake Charles, Louisiana area, it reported. Governor Edwards.

This Thursday, August 27, 2020 photo shows various buildings flooded by Hurricane Laura in Cameron, Louisiana. (AP Photo / David J. Phillip) AP

President Donald 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.

Trump said he had considered delaying the acceptance speech for the Republican National Convention this Thursday night, depending on the severity of the storm, but said he will go ahead with initial plans.

"It turned out that we had a bit of luck, it was very big, it was very powerful, but it happened quickly, so everything is according to schedule," said the president.

During the natural disaster emergency, the largest evacuation since the coronavirus pandemic began was ordered: more than 580,000 residents on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana who were forced to leave their homes to seek refuge in shelters specially equipped to minimize the spread of COVID-19, in hotels and even in cars.

Storm Laura shook Louisiana and left severe damage.

Although not everyone heeded the warnings and many faced the storm from their homes, officials assured that the loss of life could be minimized thanks to the evacuations.

Now, the priority for the Edwards administration will be locate and rescue operations, followed by efforts to find hotel rooms for people who lost their homes or are currently unlivable.

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

Bucky Millet, a 78-year-old resident of Lake Arthur, Louisiana, considered evacuating but decided to ride out the storm with his family, concerned about the possibility of contagion from the virus. He told The Associated Press news agency that a small tornado blew the cover off his truck bed and made him think the roof of his house was next.

"You heard a crack and a 'boom' and everything was shaking," he said.

Laura's powerful winds smashed all the windows in the living room of Bethany Agosto's house in Lake Charles, where he and his sister weathered the storm along with two other people. In the worst moment of the night, they ran to take refuge inside the closet.

“The closet was like a puzzle. We were on top of each other, hugging and crying, ”Agosto said.

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

Also in Lake Charles, a tree split the house and car of Darío López, who lamented the damage to his estate. "We are concerned because we have our family and we have to support them," he told Noticias Telemundo.

In Orange County, Texas, one of the hardest hit areas , a tree fell on the home of the Ramírez family, who said it is the third time they will have to rebuild their home due to storm damage.

"You feel sad because you have to repair and fight and nobody helps you," Armando Ramírez told Noticias Telemundo.

Laura is such a powerful storm that it could regain strength when it turns east and hits the Atlantic Ocean, endangering the densely populated northeast coast of the United States.

Correspondents Edgar Muñoz and María Paula Ochoa contributed to this report from Louisiana and Texas, respectively.

With information from The Associated Press, NBC News and The New York Times.