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After advancing rapidly through the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Laura became a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday. When the storm made landfall in Louisiana and Texas Thursday morning, it was strong enough to destroy buildings and wash away cars.
Businesses from tire shops to general stores had windows blown out, basements flooded and stock ruined by the storm’s fury.
Tragically, at least 3 people have been killed in Louisiana by the storm’s arrival. One 14-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell on her home. Two other people were also killed by falling trees in Cameron Parish. Parishes from Cameron to Vernon were reporting massive damage from the storm surge and high wind speeds.
The storm made landfall early in the morning of Thursday, August 28. The storm touched down around 1:00 AM in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
According to official reports, around 100 people in the parish refused to evacuate the region. It’s impossible to overstate how bad of an idea this was: the storm surge was deadly and could have washed elevated homes from their stilts.
Roads in the area are blocked by debris and rushing water at the time of this writing. As such it’s been difficult to assess the extent of the damage. Likewise, it’s hard to tell how the people who chose to ride out the storm have fared. Local officials fear that the death toll may be higher than the three currently being reported.
“This has turned out for the city of Lake Charles to be a catastrophic wind event,” said Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter. Speaking to reporters for The Weather Channel, Hunter continued “I’m looking out my window and I see buildings in downtown Lake Charles that look like Swiss cheese. I see a TV tower that’s collapsed. I see literal entire facades of buildings that are blown off, not just windows. First floor of city hall, the entire first floor walls are basically just blown apart. This is a major event.”
Anecdotal reports are claiming that the damage looks worse than Hurricane Rita in 2005. Much like 2020, 2005 was a very active hurricane season. Rita and Katrina were two of the more notable hurricanes from that destructive year of storms.
This hurricane arrives amidst a tough moment in US history. Not only is there a pandemic ravaging the country, but there is also ongoing civil unrest. There is never a good time for a hurricane, but 2020 has proven to be especially trying for the US.
