Our live coverage has ended, but you can read more about the storm below.
Hurricane Laura knocked out most of the water service in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Thursday.
“We’ve got some plants that are open, but it’s not enough to serve the entire city. The pressure is in the single digits,” City Administrator John Cardone told CNN.
Cardone said engineering consultants are coming to the city to help fix the system, which they hope to have to at least 45% capacity on Friday. The problem, according to the city administrator, is not just a loss of power, but also the potential for broken pipes all over the city.
“There were a lot of uprooted trees on private property,” said Cardone. “If they got the water lines on the private property, we’d need to go there and locate it. If people are evacuated, we don’t know where the leaks are.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Health Alert Network advisory Thursday warning of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, which slammed into the Louisiana coast early Thursday as a powerful Category 4 storm.
The storm has knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses and people could turn to “alternate power sources such as gasoline generators and may use propane or charcoal grills for cooking,” the CDC said.
“If used or placed improperly, these sources can lead to CO (carbon monoxide) buildup inside buildings, garages, or campers and poison the people and animals inside,” the CDC said.
The agency is advising doctors in the hurricane zone to pay attention to symptoms that could be related to CO poisoning. They can include headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, chest pain and altered mental status. Symptoms with no fever with symptoms, a history of exposure or multiple people with similar complaints are red flags for carbon monoxide exposure.
Babies, pregnant women, the elderly and people with chronic conditions, such as anemia, respiratory illness or heart disease are most at risk for CO poisoning, the agency said.
“Appropriate and prompt diagnostic testing and treatment are crucial to reduce morbidity and prevent mortality from CO poisoning,” the CDC said in the health advisory. “Identifying and mitigating the CO source is critical in preventing other poisoning cases.”
Six people died Thursday in Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Laura, according to the state’s Department of Health.
Two of the victims were in Calcasieu Parish, while there were also fatalities in Acadia, Allen, Jackson and Vernon Parishes, spokesperson Alyson Neel tells CNN.
The victims range in age from 14 to 68.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he is preparing for Tropical Storm Laura to hit the state by pre-deploying search and rescue teams as well as members of the state’s National Guard.
He said that 30,000 residents are currently without power in his state but that he expects that number to rise.
Hutchinson said no one has died, but he urged everyone to stay alert.
“We’re cautioning everybody to pay attention, be safe, but the danger will really be coming in the next 24 hours and even after that with the flash flooding,” he said.
At least 806,828 customers remain without power in Louisiana and Texas as of 3:20 p.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.US.
Louisiana is experiencing the most significant outages from Hurricane Laura.
Here’s a breakdown of the outages in both states:
President Trump says he’ll head to the Gulf Coast “Saturday or Sunday” to survey damage from Hurricane Laura.
During a briefing at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s national headquarters on Thursday, Trump also said he considered pushing back his speech to the Republican National Convention in light of the hurricane.
“I was actually prepared to postpone the speech tonight and make it Monday,” Trump said. “I was going to Texas, I was going to Louisiana, maybe Arkansas.”
“But now it turned out we got a little bit lucky. It was very big, it was very powerful but it passed quickly. And so everything is going to be on schedule,” he said, referring back to his nomination acceptance speech tonight.
Trump said he would “probably” make the trip on Saturday or Sunday, and head to “Texas and Louisiana and maybe an additional stop.”
He concluded by thanking FEMA and local law enforcement.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said that while Hurricane Laura didn’t bring “the absolute catastrophic damage that we thought that was likely,” the state was still hard-hit.
“We have sustained a tremendous amount of damage,” he said at a news conference.
Edwards said at least four people in the state have died as a result of the storm. All four deaths were due to trees falling.
Regarding a chemical plant fire near Lake Charles, Edwards said, “We are doing everything we can to get that situation under control.” He also said that the I-10 bridge in the area is closed for inspection after a casino barge broke away and made contact with the bridge.
Edwards said a priority was moving people that needed shelter into hotel or motel rooms due to the need to social distance because of Covid-19.
Despite damage to home and properties, Vermilion Parish Sheriff Mike Couvillon announced he’s lifting the curfew with immediate effect.
Vermilion Parish is just east of Cameron, Louisiana, where Laura made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane earlier today.
Couvillon said:
Couvillon said “some homes and properties have taken on water or have been damaged due to wind and surge,” adding that everyone should use “courtesy for their neighbors,” and help people “restore their lives.”
As first responders were deployed to the area to assess the damage, Couvillon said, “Though we are not out of the woods yet, through communication and preparation all of these entities were able to deploy assets immediately and begin the process of getting normalcy back in everyone’s lives.”
“We know how important it is to return to your residence and check on pets, livestock, and access damages at your home. I also would like to thank all of the utility companies that are working diligently to restore our power,” his post on Facebook said.
New Jersey Office of Emergency Management is sending a task force to Louisiana to assist with rescue and recovery efforts following Hurricane Laura, Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted.
This team has been deployed seven times as a team for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Urban Search & Rescue, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management tweeted.
The mayor tweeted a short video of crews preparing to leave Wall, New Jersey, earlier today.
Watch the moment:
Tropical Storm Laura is about 65 miles east northeast of Shreveport and has winds of 65 mph, according to the National Weather Service’s latest forecast advisory.
The center is now warning of “flooding rainfall and strong winds spreading inland over northern Louisiana and southeastern Arkansas.”
“High water levels persist along portions of the Gulf Coast,” the center said in its 2 p.m. ET update.
Here’s a look at Laura’s latest predicted path:
Tropical Storm Laura is impacting operations at at least 13 airports that American Airlines serves, a travel alert from the airline said Thursday.
The alert says that any customers traveling to, through, or from the following airports may have their change fee waived if certain guidelines are met.
Laura has now weakened below hurricane strength and is a 70 mph tropical storm, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.
The storm, which became a hurricane for the first time at 8:15 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning, went through a period of rapid intensification and made landfall overnight as a Category 4, 150 mph storm.
The center of Laura is currently located over northern Louisiana and will track into Arkansas today and continue to weaken.
Remember: Even though Laura is now just a tropical storm, it is still producing a number of hazards including tropical storm force winds, isolated tornadoes and heavy rain. Rainfall totals of 4-8 inches are forecast over the Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley into the weekend, which will lead to flash flooding.
Clean up could take weeks or months over the hardest-hit areas. There are already 750,000 customers currently without power, according to PowerOutage.us in Louisiana and Texas.
The Louisiana State Police Emergency Services Unit (ESU) issued a statement confirming their technicians are working a hazardous material incident involving a chlorine leak originating from the BioLab chemical manufacturing facility in Westlake, Louisiana.
They said LSP ESU personnel are coordinating with plant managers to contain the leak and urged citizens to follow emergency orders from local officials.
Read the full statement below:
The National Hurricane Center forecast the Louisiana landfall of Hurricane Laura on the mark nearly four days in advance of the storm hitting the US coast.
By Sunday morning — when the storm was only a 50 mph tropical storm over Haiti — the National Hurricane Center was projecting the storm would make landfall in the early hours of Thursday morning in far western Louisiana.
That is a remarkably accurate forecast – especially considering that at that time the National Hurricane Center was also dealing with Hurricane Marco developing in the Gulf of Mexico as well.
Some context: The average error in the NHC track three to four days out is around 100 miles. The error for the forecast for Laura issued Sunday morning? Literally zero. The centerline of the forecast on Sunday projected Laura crossing onto land in the exact point that the eye made landfall at 2 a.m. ET, this morning.
It should be noted that later issuances of the forecast did move a few miles east and west over the next few days as the National Hurricane Center forecasters continued to evaluate the computer forecast models. Still, the Louisiana/Texas border region continued to be the focus for the storm’s landfall.
As for the intensity forecast for Laura? The same Sunday morning forecast showed Laura making landfall with winds of at least 100 mph, a Category 2 hurricane. Laura’s landfall intensity was actually 150 mph, making it a Category 4 storm.
So the forecast intensity error was 50 mph, considerably worse than the 15-20 mph average error – but it should be noted that the National Hurricane Center was consistent in their forecast discussions that Laura could strengthen significantly more over the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters.
Subsequent forecasts through Monday and Tuesday zeroed in on the fact that Laura would likely become a stronger, and eventually major, hurricane.
The extent that Laura rapidly intensified on Wednesday was extreme, something only a small handful of storms have done in the more than 150 years they have been tracked. Hurricane researchers and forecasters will be studying for years to come to work to make future forecasts even better.
A Facebook post from the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office said they are “experiencing very high call volume at this time and understand the dire situation the parish is currently in.”
BPSO is asking residents to “limit calls to things or situations of the highest level of emergency.”
“With so many calls coming in our dispatchers cannot keep up and prioritized the calls that need the upmost immediate attention,” the post said.
BPSO said they “want nothing more than to help each and every one of you,” but they are asking for patience so they can keep everyone safe.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards confirmed that a chemical fire is burning at a plant in southeast Louisiana. He urged all residents to shelter in place, turn off air conditioning units and to wait further directions from local officials.
Emergency alerts pinged cellphones in the Lake Charles area with the following message:
The Parish office of Emergency management was unable to provide details at this point regarding the incident.
CNN crews in the area saw a large plume of smoke coming from a facility near I-10 in Lake Charles.
According to a statement from Greta Gustafson with the American Red Cross, “last night, more than 10,000 people across Texas and Louisiana were provided a safe place to stay by local officials in emergency lodgings, including shelters and, in some circumstances, hotels.”
“With the light of day bringing the full scope of Hurricane Laura into view, it’s clear the storm produced devastating results. Overnight I witnessed extreme winds, heavy rains, street flooding, property damage and loss of power,” Stephanie Wagner, also with the Red Cross, said from Louisiana.
The Red Cross is providing blankets, cots and personal protective equipment for those in need. They are also on stand-by in Arkansas as the catastrophic storm continues to move north.
More than 400 Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground, with another 400 mobilized virtually, Gustafson said.
Three deaths have been reported in Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Laura, a spokesperson for the state tells CNN
“The Acadia parish coroner has confirmed the death of a 60 year old male that died after a tree fell onto the house he was in. The coroner has confirmed death is considered a storm-related death,” Mike Steele, spokesperson for the State Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told CNN
Another man died in Jackson Parish, when a tree fell on a home he was in, Steel said.
The governor’s office had previously confirmed the death of a 14-year-old girl in Vernon Perish when a tree hit fell on her home.
An “incident” is being investigated in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Mike Steele, spokesperson for the state office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told CNN. Steele said that State Police and the State Fire Marshall are the lead agencies for hazmat incidents.
Emergency alerts pinged cellphones in the Lake Charles area with the following message:
The parish’s office of emergency management was unable to provide details at this point regarding the incident. A spokesperson for the governor’s office said, “We are looking into it and will release details when they are available.”
CNN crews in the area saw a large plume of smoke coming from a facility near I-10 in Lake Charles.
Hurricane Laura remains a Category 1 storms as it travels northward through Louisiana, according to a noon ET update from the National Hurricane Center.
The storm current has winds of 75 mph.
“Damaging winds and flooding rainfall spreading inland over central and northern portions of Louisiana,” the center said in the update. “High water levels persist along portions of the Gulf Coast.”
There are at least 709,465 customers without power in Louisiana and Texas as of 11:45 a.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.US.
Louisiana is experiencing the most significant outages from Hurricane Laura, with at least 570,706 current outages. Texas, meanwhile, is reporting at least 138,759 outages.
Hurricane Laura slammed into the Louisiana coast overnight as a dangerous Category 4 storm. It’s since weakened, but it continues to travel northward through the state.
If you’re just reading in now, here’s what you need to know:
Laura will continue to weaken as it crosses into Arkansas later today and overnight. However, this does not diminish the effects it could have on the state.
Tropical Storm-force winds will sweep across the region. With at times, gusts over 60mph. “Winds this strong could down trees and power lines, with power outages possible,” says the National Weather Service in Little Rock.
There is also a slight risk for tornadoes across most of the state. Tornadoes associated with hurricanes and tropical storms are often isolated and tend to be brief and weak.
“Even so, they can still cause damage,” the National Weather Service warns.
In addition, 4 to 6 inches of rainfall is forecast from Texarkana to just northeast of Little Rock.
With this rain coming down in just a short amount of time, flash flooding is likely.
“Flash flooding could be serious in places,” the Little Rock weather office said.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany issued a statement on Hurricane Laura, encouraging those affected to heed warnings from state and local authorities.
She reiterated that Trump was briefed earlier this week by acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Pete Gaynor and said he continues to “receive regular updates about the conditions on the ground.”
The Louisiana National Guard tweeted photos of its members beginning to clear roads in Lake Charles.
Yesterday, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that the full Louisiana National Guard had been activated ahead of Hurricane Laura. The last time the state activated the full guard was for Hurricane Issac in 2012, he said.
Officials in Hardin County, Texas, are asking residents who evacuated not to rush home.
The mandatory evacuation in the county will lift this afternoon, but Judge Wayne McDaniel said the area does have reports of damage and power outages.
“Over 10,300 Hardin County homes and businesses are currently without electricity and we have no estimate as to when it will be restored,” he added.
Gas stations and grocery stores still remain closed, and without power, they could remain closed for quite some time.
“Although Hardin County dodged a bullet on major storm damages, our neighbors to the southeast, east and northeast were not so lucky. Please keep them in your prayers – Hardin County stands ready to assist them in any way that we can,” McDaniel said.
A 14-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell on her home, marking the state’s first hurricane-related death, the governor’s office reported.
Christina Stephens, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said they “do expect that there could be more fatalities.”
The death took place in Vernon Parish, according to Shauna Sanford with Gov. John Bel Edwards office.
Hurricane Laura continues to travel northward through Louisiana, and the storm is now about 55 miles southeast of Shreveport, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. ET advisory.
The National Hurricane Center said that although Laura is weakening, “strong wind gusts are likely to spread over northern Louisiana and Arkansas into this evening.”
The center warned that “high water levels persist” along parts of the coast.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards urged residents to remain inside as Hurricane Laura travels northward through the state, saying that the storm was still dangerous.
“The threat Laura poses to Louisiana is far from over” he tweeted.
The City of Houston is not reporting any impacts from Hurricane Laura, according to a statement from the city.
Non-essential city employees will return to their normal schedule today and all city offices will be open, the statement says.
Overnight, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted this:
Hurricane Laura roared across the Louisiana coastline early Thursday as a Category 4 storm, bringing 150-mph winds and devastating destruction.
Authorities warn a “life-threatening” storm surge continues along much of the Louisiana coastline with the risk of strong winds, flooding and possible tornadoes.
The damage is only beginning to come into full view as day breaks but more than 600,000 people are already without power.
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is answering viewer questions.
Watch the video here:
Jefferson County in Texas is set to lift its evacuation order at 11 a.m. ET, according to a post on the county Office of Emergency Management page.
The county borders Louisiana to the east and includes Port Arthur and Beaumont.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, along with local law enforcement agencies “are assessing roadways and trying to clear debris.”
“There are several areas throughout our region who have no power at this time. Electrical crews need first priority. It is dangerous to drive on the roadways that have not been cleared. Downed power lines with live wires, downed trees and other random debris could cause you to get injured,” the post says.
The office asks that residents give crews time to clear the roadways before returning to their homes.
The City of Galveston is lifting its evacuation and curfew orders this morning after the city “was spared the destruction of Hurricane Laura.”
The city said it “did not sustain wind or storm damage, and water is receding in low-lying areas that experienced street flooding,” according to a post on Facebook. Additionally, there are no major power outages to report.
“While we feel thankful and lucky this morning, our thoughts are with our neighbors along the upper Texas Coast and Louisiana. The City has reached out to our various partners to see how we may be able to provide help to those affected by Hurricane Laura,” Galveston added in the post.
Hurricane Laura is now a Category 1 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Laura made landfall overnight in Louisiana as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, but it has been weakening as it travels northward through Louisiana.
However, earlier today, Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center, said that Laura is expected to remain a hurricane until it nearly reaches Arkansas.
“We expect Hurricane Laura to still be a hurricane even when you get up to Shreveport, right on the Arkansas border,” he said on CNN this morning.
There are at least 603,331 customers without power in Louisiana and Texas this morning as of 9:30 a.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.US.
Louisiana is experiencing the most significant outages from Hurricane Laura. Here’s the breakdown of reported outages:
CNN affiliate KXAN shared these pictures taken by their crew in Vinton, Louisiana. The crew rode out the Hurricane from within the eyewall.
Vinton is between Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The pictures show the extent of the damage with the roof of a gas station toppled and metal poles torn down.
A social media post by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana said, “LA 1 remains closed this morning south of the Leon Theriot Lock in Golden Meadow.”
The office did not have an estimate of when the roadway could potentially reopen. Portions of Lafourche Parish are still under a mandatory evacuation order, the sheriff’s office said.
Hurricane Laura is still a Category 2 storm. It will likely still be a hurricane as it approaches the Arkansas-Louisiana border by mid-day.
Hurricane-force winds are likely to spread through the I-20 corridor. This prompted the National Weather Service to expand the hurricane warnings northward through the state.
Later this afternoon, the storm will have moved entirely into Arkansas, with winds and rain diminishing in Louisiana.
“In its wake, however, we will see the brunt of Laura’s impacts as widespread power outages are likely given the wind speeds anticipated over much of the southern half of the region,” the Shreveport weather office said.
President Trump will visit to the The Federal Emergency Management Agency later today to be briefed on Hurricane Laura, according to White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
The timing of this is still unclear.
The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Laura, which made landfall in Louisiana overnight, remains a Category 2 storm this morning.
“Damaging winds and flooding rainfall spreading inland over western and central Louisiana,” the center wrote in a 9 a.m. ET update. “Life-threatening storm surge continues along much of the Louisiana coastline.”
Earlier, today, Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center, said that Laura is expected to remain a hurricane as it travels northward throughout Louisiana today.
“We expect Hurricane Laura to still be a hurricane even when you get up tp Shreveport, right on the Arkansas border,” he said on CNN this morning.
Texas has dealt with two hurricanes during the global Covid-19 pandemic, Gov. Greg Abbott told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Thursday morning.
After Hurricane Hanna in July, which hit the Corpus Christi area, the state learned new strategies.
Abbott said ahead of Hurricane Laura, “as opposed to evacuating people to large convention centers and things like that, we’ve tried to put as many as possible to hotel rooms so that families can isolate together, so that they are not in a congregate setting, spreading Covid-19.”
When asked if Trump should postpone his speech tonight because of the hurricane, Abbott said he hasn’t even been watching the Republican National Convention.
“I’ve been watching the hurricane, as its approaching,” he said. “I’ll be candid with you, because I’ve been literally working around the clock on the hurricane. I haven’t had a chance to tune into anything.”
But Abbott said he thinks the RNC will go on as planned. “I think he will give a terrific speech,” he said.
Residents in Sulphur, Louisiana, are starting to get a sense of the devastation caused by Hurricane Laura.
John Burch tells CNN that the city didn’t lose power until around 1:32 a.m. When they were in the eye, he says they were standing outside in the street with their neighbors.
He explained that while the backend of the storm had less intense winds, they were significantly more sustained.
“There’s a tree down in every person’s yard,” he says.
There’s a number of power lines down, too.
Louisiana’s governor said that damage in his state was extensive, and warned that a full assessment was not truly known yet. He also warned citizens that they need to careful during the recovery due to Covid-19.
Edwards said that the state has not been able to send helicopters yet due to the high wind speeds, but that more than 1,500 search and rescue personal and 400 boats and high-water vehicles are on the way to the worst hit areas.
At this point, the governor said that no deaths had been reported as a result of the storm.
“We have an immediate need that we need to take care of but we don’t want to do it in a reckless way that causes more cases of Covid to impact our state,” the governor said.
Paul Heard rode out Hurricane Laura in his car in Lake Charles, Louisiana. When he got into his car, it was about 25 feet from his house and he described how powerful winds moved his car overnight.
“Trees are twisted from high winds or tornadoes. There’s a lot of damage. People are going to need a lot of help down here,” he said, describing how his own house had been compromised.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says his state currently doesn’t have any reported fatalities from Hurricane Laura.
Speaking on CNN’s New Day, Edwards continued saying, “I don’t know how long that will hold up, but that’s a blessing.”
WATCH:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said major evacuations along coastal Texas ahead of Hurricane Laura “no doubt saved lives.”
“The early reports are that there were no deaths,” Abbot said while speaking to CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. “One reason for that is because people did heed the warnings to evacuate.”
But Abbott warned the storm isn’t over yet.
“If you go further up in Texas, in North East Texas, the hurricane is still going through,” Abbott said. “So there’s powerful winds knocking down very tall trees, in east Texas as well as potential tornado activity. So people in northeast Texas, still need to remain very vigilant right now.”
He continued:
“Right now we have search and rescue teams that are already going throughout the entire area to see if there is anybody who does need some type of assistance with the level of water that you’re talking about, especially in the Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange areas that were the closest to the Louisiana border that could have faced the hardest brunt of the storm.”
Emergency crews are on the ground right now, “making assessment about what the flooding damage is.”
WATCH:
More power outages have been reported in Texas and Louisiana this morning, with more than 500,000 customers affected in the states.
Louisiana is experiencing the most significant outages from Hurricane Laura, with almost 400,000 customers without power, according to to PowerOutage.US.
Meanwhile, more than 100,000 customers are affected in Texas.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s 8 a.m. ET advisory, Hurricane Laura has maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.
“Damaging winds and flooding rainfall spreading inland over western and central Louisiana,” the advisory said. “Life-threatening storm surge continues along much of the Louisiana coastline.”
Here’s a look at the latest predicted path:
Hurricane Laura blew chucks off of the Golden Nugget Casino’s roof as it tore through the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Ted Oberg, a reporter for CNN affiliate KTRK was in Lake Charles as hurricane Laura hit the area. As the winds picked up overnight, part of the roof of the Golden Nugget Casino began flying off.
WATCH:
Laura weakened to a Category 2 storm, with winds of 110 mph. Earlier this morning, it made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm.
Storm chaser Brandon Clement witnessed strong winds blow an RV over as he documented Hurricane Laura’s Louisiana landfall.
See what happened:
Hurricane Laura is battering Louisiana this morning — and the coast isn’t the only area that’s threatened.
The storm surge for Laura could spread up to 30 miles inland in southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas, reaching all the way to Interstate 10 potentially between Beaumont and Lake Charles.
Here’s a look at where there’s storm surge warnings:
More power outages have been reported in Texas and Louisiana this morning, with almost 450,000 customers without power in both states, according to PowerOutage.US.
Louisiana is experiencing the most significant outages from Hurricane Laura, with outages affecting almost 360,000 customers. Meanwhile, more than 85,000 of affected customers are in Texas.
Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center, said that while Laura has weakened since landfall, it’s expected to remain a hurricane as it travels northward throughout Louisiana today.
Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm overnight. Since then, it has weakened to a Category 2, with winds of 110 mph.
Tolor White, Jr. filmed this video inside his home in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It shows the significant damage caused by Hurricane Laura.
He told CNN he dozed off after working on a crossword puzzle but was woken up by a loud noise a little before 1:15 a.m. local time.
When he crawled out from under his makeshift barricade — two mattresses — he saw the roof had been torn off by the wind. As he was surveying the damage, the glass windows broke directly next to him.
The National Weather Service in Houston has reduced warnings across southeast Texas.
However, they warn that the storm remains a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.
Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm, but it has since weakened to a Category 2.
The storm surge for Laura could spread up to 30 miles inland in southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas — reaching all the way to Interstate 10 potentially between Beaumont and Lake Charles.
The National Hurricane Center will release its next forecast advisory at 8 a.m. ET.
Since the center’s last advisory, released at 5 a.m. ET, Hurricane Laura has weakened into a Category 2 storm. The hurricane has winds of 110 mph.
In the meantime, here’s a look at Laura’s latest predicted path:
Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm, but it has since weakened to a Category 2.
Laura’s center, known as the eye of the storm, is now located north of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
CNN’s national correspondent Martin Savidge is reporting from Lake Charles, which has seen extensive damage. Here’s a look at what he’s seeing:
Meanwhile, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in Beaumont, Texas, where more than 77,000 customers are without power, according to PowerOutage.US. Here’s what it’s like on the ground there:
Power outages in Louisiana and Texas are climbing at a rapid pace this morning, after Hurricane Laura made landfall on the Gulf Coast.
There are now 394,763 customers without power in both states, according to PowerOutage.US.
More than 317,000 of those customers are in Louisiana, while more than 77,000 are in Texas.
Powerful Hurricane Laura battered the Louisiana coastline Thursday morning after sweeping ashore as the region’s strongest storm in over a century.
If you’re just reading in now, here are the latest developments on the storm:
As Hurricane Laura continues to move inland, the weakening trend has continued. Winds are now 110 mph, which makes Laura a strong Category 2 hurricane.
The center, known as the eye of the storm, is located about 45 miles north of Lake Charles.
Further weakening will continue, and Laura will likely become a tropical storm later today as it tracks from Louisiana into Arkansas.
