Read more about Texas, Louisiana brace for Hurricane Laura; 500,000 ordered to evacuate on Business Standard. As Hurricane Laura hurtled towards the US, more than half a million people have been ordered to evacuate the Texas and Louisiana coasts, in the largest evacuation in the country during the pandemic
As Laura hurtled towards the US, more than half a million people have been ordered to evacuate the and coasts, in the largest evacuation in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Laura became the fourth of the 2020 Atlantic season Tuesday morning and is expected to intensify over the Gulf of Mexico and become a major hurricane prior to striking the upper or southwest coasts late Wednesday or early Thursday. More than 3,85,000 residents were ordered to evacute in and another 2,00,000 in The governors of Texas and Louisiana declared disasters in advance of the storms. Texas Governor Greg Abbott preemptively declared a state disaster for 23 counties ahead of tropical storms Marco and Laura. The declaration puts resources and personnel on standby. Abbott also asked for a federal emergency declaration for those counties, which was approved. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards told The Weather Channel he hopes his state’s residents don’t let their guard down just because Marco was not as strong as expected. “Laura has always been the greater threat to Louisiana,” Edwards told Jim Cantore. “We don’t want people to become complacent because we caught a break with Marco.” Edwards declared a state of emergency for Louisiana on Friday night and requested a federal emergency declaration on Saturday. President Donald Trump approved Edwards’s request for help. According to weather experts, life-threatening storm surge and destructive winds will batter the coast and a threat of flooding rain and strong winds will extend well inland.
