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The Gulf Coast of Texas and Lousiana are on high alert as Hurricane Laura bears down on the US. Many have been ordered to evacuate ahead of what is being called an “unsurvivable” storm surge. The storm is now expected to make landfall on Thursday. Ahead of its arrival on land, officials are moving rapidly to evacuate thousands of residents.
Weather officials say the storm is catastrophic. When it makes landfall, it could cause millions of dollars in damage and destroy homes and businesses. If people in the region refuse to or are unable to evacuate, they are quite likely to be swept away by the storm surge. The storm’s sudden intensification throughout the day on Wednesday surprised meteorologists and residents alike.
A hurricane arriving in the middle of a pandemic is worse, still. Public shelters will likely complicate measures to enforce social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Scientists have been tracking Laura since it was a simple tropical disturbance last week. Forecasters did not expect it to become a very powerful storm early on. However, after moving over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and pulling moisture in the from the sea, the storm intensified dramatically. Scientists are now classifying the storm as a Category 4 hurricane, one of the strongest types of hurricane that can occur.
The rapid speed with which the storm intensified has left Louisiana and Texas unprepared for the storm’s arrival tomorrow. In prior years, storms gained strength more slowly as they approached land, giving officials more time to prepare. With Laura, Texas and Louisiana had only a few hours to evacuate the coastal regions and prepare for the worst.
Hurricanes are frightening due solely to their massive power and the variety of problems they bring with them. A hurricane is an engine of heat, wind, and rain. When a hurricane reaches land, it brings along with it a “storm surge”. This is a surge of water that the storm drags onto land, which is strong enough to sweep even 2019 Honda CR-Vs and homes into the ocean.
Beyond the storm surge, these storms can bring so much rainfall that flooding occurs. When storm surge and rainfall flooding occur simultaneously, the damage can be immense. Even still, hurricanes are powered, primarily, by the fast-moving winds in their hearts. This wind can pick up debris, level trees and destroy structures. Needless to say, the best thing to do when a hurricane arrives is run.
