Hurricane Laura: Louisiana faces 110mph winds as storm moves deeper inland – US politics live
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It’s not just the wind and rain and associated flooding that is a life-threatening risk with Hurricane Laura. As the largest storm to hit the Louisiana coast for 164 years, it will also bring with a storm surge that will cause severe flooding that can reach quite far inland. Here’s a graphic showing the extent of the current risk.
National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham says he expects Laura to remain a hurricane up to the Arkansas border.
“We’re not done yet,” he says, adding that the storm surge could be “prolonged.” https://t.co/854Yj5xXyT pic.twitter.com/tLn5BaXk0i
Louisiana Lt. Governor Bill Nungesse has been on Good Morning America with a very bleak assessment of the survival chances of people near the coast who did not evacuate. He said:
We know anyone that stayed that’s close to the coast, we’ve got to pray for them, because looking at the storm surge, there would be little chance of survival. We’ve heard that from 50 to 150 people may have stayed behind to ride this out. In Holly Beach, where they raised homes 15 feet after [2005’s Hurricane] Rita, and many thought that might be safe, that would not survive this tidal surge. We’re hopeful most people got out, but as soon as it’s safe for the first responders to get in there, we’re hopeful that we don’t find people that didn’t make it.
“We know anyone that stayed that’s close to the coast, looking at the storm surge, there would be little chance of survival.” Louisiana Lt. Governor Bill Nungesse shares latest details on Hurricane Laura. https://t.co/R6GUDw2qIC pic.twitter.com/fJhZhsF9UE
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