Donald Trump visited the damage from the White House on Saturday morning, heading southwest Louisiana, and in neighboring Texas, two days after Hurricane Laura, the wind blew up to 150 mph in the Gulf of Mexico, causing power outages and widespread flooding. And lack of running water in some towns.
The U.S. president, who approved Louisiana’s request for a major disaster declaration in 23 counties in the state called local jurisdiction, is likely to arrive at Charles Lake around noon local time and meet with Governor John Bell Edwards.
In a statement, Edwards said Trump’s “quick action” would pave the way for individuals and communities affected by Hurricane Laura to seek help.
The White House said Friday that when Trump arrives, he will “survey hurricane damage and receive a briefing on emergency operations and ongoing relief efforts.”
At least 14 deaths – 10 in Louisiana and four in Texas – are now attributed to a series of 4 hurricanes, the strongest hurricane of any hurricane on record hitting the South Coast and causing extensive damage to homes and water systems. The shoreline is 40 miles wide.
On Saturday, more than 200 million Americans were drawn to the eastern seaboard, like North Connecticut, for extreme weather provoked by Laura’s tail, with winds and torrential rain forecasting more than 60 MPF.
The wind damaged Louisiana, shattering buildings and windows along the roof. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without electricity or clean water, but predicted the hurricane would flood Lake Charles, the state’s sixth-largest city, with up to 20 feet of floodwaters unnoticed.
Firefighters battled a chemical fire at a chlorine plant near the city on Friday, a day after firefighters were temporarily contained.
The factory, which makes chlorine products for swimming pools, released an unknown amount of gas, according to Louisiana Fire Marshal’s produces fee. Extensive shelter and warnings have been issued in the shelter to avoid contact with chlorine gas and other harmful emissions from the fire.
Before leaving for the two affected states, Trump told reporters he planned to delay his 70-minute speech at the Republican National Assembly on Thursday night because of the storm. “As it turned out, we were a little bit lucky,” Trump said. It was too big, it was too powerful, but it passed quickly. ”
Meteorologists also said that a monster storm could wreak more havoc than that.
Laura was flooded 15 miles east of Louisiana before the strike – enough to move east of Charles Lake and to the worst-hit storm in Cameroon County, the second least populated county on the coast.
The storm was still devastating, but not as catastrophic as it could have been.
“It was really bad, rather than a revelation,” said Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University.
Jamie Rome, an additional storm specialist at the National Hurricane Center, called the change in the hurricane’s last-minute course a “little wobble,” which saved Charles. In the end, that city could probably get half the hurricane revenue, he said.
Officials warned of an “unsafe” hurricane growth for the vast region before it hit the ground.
Others said the rapid migration of the local population has also contributed to a relatively low loss of life.
“I’m very cynical and critical, but I think this parish did amazingly well,” he said.
Shirley Laska, a sociologist studying Louisiana disasters at the University of New Orleans. “And I mean both citizens and leaders,” Laska said. “But they got out of the dodge. They migrated as they were told. ”
Laska said he believes the months-long coronavirus epidemic has helped everyone become more aware of the risk. It had a tropical hurricane, Marco, which threatened the region just a few days earlier and then shook the region. People were well prepared in advance.
Trump’s hurricane damage tour aggressively comes ahead of the re-election campaign travel schedule.
After an arena rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a thin crowd erupted earlier this summer, with campaign organizers settling into a new format: filling small crowds with airport hangars.
According to advisers, Trump is also planning a series of policy speeches and is expected to continue to use office powers, including signing administrative orders and granting amnesty, to help his party’s political prospects against the General Office.
