Hurricane Laura roars toward U.S. Gulf Coast, 'unsurvivable storm surge' forecast

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Hurricane Laura roars toward U.S. Gulf Coast, 'unsurvivable storm surge' forecast

By Ernest Scheyder and Jennifer Hiller

 

Local resident Robert Sawyer, 48, boards up businesses ahead of Hurricane Laura in Galveston, Texas, U.S., August 26, 2020. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

 

PORT ARTHUR, Texas (Reuters) - Hurricane Laura roared toward the Gulf Coast on Wednesday afternoon as a massive Category 4 storm and was expected to cause catastrophic damage and "unsurvivable storm surge" along the Texas and Louisiana border, the National Hurricane Center said.

 

Laura, located 200 miles (320 km) south-southeast of Port Arthur on Wednesday afternoon, had maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (220 km per hour) and was expected to pack winds of up to 145 mph (233 kph) before landfall on Wednesday night, the Miami-based forecaster said.

 

Some 620,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders in Louisiana and Texas.

 

The catastrophic storm surge could penetrate up to 30 miles (48 km) inland from the coastline between Sea Rim State Park, Texas, and Intracoastal City, Louisiana, and could raise water levels as high as 20 feet (6 m) in parts of Cameron Parish, Louisiana, the NHC said.

 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned residents "who may be in harm's way, to take these few last hours to get out of harm's way" as Hurricane Laura is on a steady track to hit the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast after dark.

 

"To think that there would be a wall of water over two stories high coming on shore is very difficult for most to conceive, but that is what is going to happen," said National Weather Service meteorologist Benjamin Schott at a news conference. Most of Louisiana's Cameron Parish would be underwater at some point, Schott added.

 

"The word 'unsurvivable' is not one that we like to use, and it's one that I've never used before," Schott said of the storm surge.

 

Temporary housing was being hastily organized outside the storm surge zone for evacuated residents, and emergency teams were being strategically positioned, state and federal emergency management agencies said.

 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Pete Gaynor posted pictures of portable shelters at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, about 115 miles (185 km) north of the Gulf Coast.

 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his state's National Guard was in place with high-water vehicles and rescue helicopters.

 

While Houston had earlier in the week feared Laura would deliver a direct hit to the fourth-largest U.S. city, the storm has shifted east and Houston, which was devastated by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, looked likely to escape the worst of it.

 

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said the state's entire National Guard had been activated for the first time since 2012.

 

"This could be a catastrophic, life threatening event," said Ken Graham, the National Hurricane Center Director for NOAA's National Weather Service, adding that Laura is "a very healthy storm, and what that tells us is there's still actually room for further intensification."

 

MANDATORY EVACUATIONS

More than 420,000 Texas residents and another 200,000 people in neighboring Louisiana were under mandatory evacuation orders.

 

The oil-refining town of Port Arthur was at the center of where the NHC was forecasting Laura to make landfall.

 

The city of 54,000 was a ghost town on Wednesday afternoon, with just a couple of gas stations and a liquor store open for business.

 

"People need their vodka," said Janaka Balasooriya, a cashier, who said he lived a few blocks away and would ride out the storm at home.

 

The sky over Port Arthur was a gray blanket, with ominous dark clouds approaching out in the Gulf. Wind and rain came in cycles as the hurricane's outer bands arrived.

 

Eric Daw, a 58-year-old Port Arthur resident, filled up his car at the Fuel Depot.

 

He said he wanted to evacuate earlier but lacked money for gas as he was waiting on a disability payment. He was headed to a shelter in San Antonio, a 4 1/2-hour drive, where instead of worrying about the storm he has to contend with COVID-19.

 

"They say we are all supposed to socially distance now," he said. "But how am I supposed to socially distance in a shelter?"

 

Laura was also expected to spawn tornadoes on Wednesday night over Louisiana, far southeastern Texas and southwestern Mississippi and drop 5 to 10 inches (127 to 254 mm) of rain over the region, the NHC said. It added there would likely be widespread flooding from far eastern Texas across Louisiana and Arkansas from Wednesday to Thursday.

 

Crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been paralyzed as companies shut down operations. Output cuts are nearing 90%, a level not seen since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

 

LANDFALL DURING PANDEMIC

Hidalgo County urged voluntary evacuation in the coastal region surrounding Houston, and shelters were set up in San Antonio, Dallas and Austin.

 

Thousands of evacuees would be sheltered at hotels in cities farther inland in Louisiana and Texas, authorities said, to encourage social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Jared Brown, 39, was heading to a friend's house in Austin from his home in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Wednesday. He had decided that would be safer from viral exposure than a hotel, where he normally would have taken shelter.

 

"Luckily he didn't mind," Brown said of his friend.

 

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Julio-Cesar Chavez in Port Arthur, Texas; Jennifer Hiller and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Liz Hampton in Denver, Colorado; Gabriella Borter in New York; Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Writing by Gabriella Borter and Brad Brooks; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Matthew Lewis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-27

 

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[Puchaiyank]

Brought up along the Gulf coast of Alabama...lived thru many hurricanes...they are both deadly and somewhat unpredictable...best to err on the side of caution!  

 

This is not a time to party...pack up and move away to higher ground... the lives of your loved ones are in the balance!

[pegman]

News saying it possibly could reach a Cat 5. That area of the Gulf is reported to be bath water warm which will energize the storm more.  Cat 5 has winds >156 miles per. I hope they are better at dealing with this than COVID.

[Scott]

The storm surge is expected to be 30 feet high (over 9 meters) and has been labeled as 'unsurvivable'. 

[rcummings]

35 minutes ago, pegman said:

News saying it possibly could reach a Cat 5. That area of the Gulf is reported to be bath water warm which will energize the storm more.  Cat 5 has winds >156 miles per. I hope they are better at dealing with this than COVID.

Hurricanes really are getting stronger, just like climate models predicted

https://www.livescience.com/climate-change-hurricanes-stronger.html

[Tug]

i Hope and pray it’s not going to be as bad as it sounds!

[pacovl46]

A guy comes into a bar and says: “A Corona and two hurricanes, please!”
Says the barkeeper: “That’s 20.20!”

 

But all kidding aside, I hope everyone stays safe! 

[pegman]

The shoreline in that whole area seems pretty  sparsely  populated. Lot of wildlife protected lands. Here is a channel continually updated storm info.

 

 

[rcummings]

It's a good thing that the FEMA fund wasn't raided by Trump to provide unemployment benefits...oh wait a minute.

[pgrahmm]

I have 2 daughters that live 30 miles inland above Port Arthur....1 was going to evacuate & 1 is going to ride it out.....

They both own businesses there, which is why one decided to stay to safeguard.....

That puts them right at the possible edge of water encroachment.....

[Scott]

11 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

I have 2 daughters that live 30 miles inland above Port Arthur....1 was going to evacuate & 1 is going to ride it out.....

They both own businesses there, which is why one decided to stay to safeguard.....

That puts them right at the possible edge of water encroachment.....

I hope they are both OK.   It sounds like a very dangerous storm. 

 

[Laza 45]

2 hours ago, Tug said:

i Hope and pray it’s not going to be as bad as it sounds!

It doesn't look good.. follow here:  https://www.ventusky.com/?p=29.6;-92.7;5&l=rain-3h

 

[GSFISM]

Worked the GoM oilfied for 20+ years..Made just about every crew change port from Belle Chase, LA to Corpus Cristi, TX... Many thousands of people live along the LA. costal area in various small towns..Expected 15' - 20' storm surge pushing inland an expected 20+ miles will be devastating..w

[dunroaming]

Something else for our American friends to deal with.  I hope this turns out to be less disastrous than predicted.  Thoughts are with everyone caught up in this.

[JulesMad]

Don't worry, your president will take care of you ????

[AndyFoxy]

26 minutes ago, JulesMad said:

Don't worry, your president will take care of you ????

I thought it was Trump’s fault.

[Tug]

Early reports are saying it wasent as severe as expected thank god some sorely needed good news!!

[pegman]

2 hours ago, Tug said:

Early reports are saying it wasent as severe as expected thank god some sorely needed good news!!

So far 1 killed. It hit as a strong Cat 4 with sustained winds of 150 mph when it hit the coast. Not many people live along the coastline because of storms like this. Lot of property damage to some smaller inland towns like Lake Charles and Sulphur. It was very powerful but not very wide.