Category 4 Hurricane Laura hits Louisiana

Posted on 27 August 2020 By Anita Froneman

Hurricane Laura made landfall in the US state of Louisiana on Thursday, August 27. The Category 4 hurricane is reported to sustain winds of over 240km/hour and is just short of a Category 5, the highest classification on the scale.

‘Sustained tropical-storm-force winds and steady heavy rains (are) beginning to spread onshore the central Louisiana coast,’ The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a statement.

Major flooding is expected and a tornado watch has been activated for Louisiana, southwest Mississippi, far east Texas and coastal waters, according to CNN.

NHC Director Ken Graham described the storm as ‘catastrophic and life-threatening. Every little bayou, every little river that normally drains your rain, is going to flow in the opposite direction with storm surge,’ he said. ‘And it (will get) out of those banks and (go) over the land.’

The National Guard has mobilised 1,000 hurricane response members in Texas, including 20 aircraft and more than 15 shelter teams, according to EWN. Over 600,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in affected areas.

Hurricane Laura is forecast to move northward through Louisiana on Thursday and then continue eastward inland on Friday [August 28].

Credit: Google Maps

Image: Twitter 

 




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