Flooding precipitation and damaging winds spread inland across central and northern Louisiana, where the storm struck as a Category 4 storm.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center degraded Laura to a tropical depression as the storm system swept across Arkansas.
Communities along the Gulf Coast have experienced high water levels in the wake of Laura, the strongest storm to hit the U.S. this year. More than 800,000 people in Louisiana and Texas were without power Thursday afternoon. National Weather Service officials said the remains of Hurricane Laura could hit tornadoes and cause flash flooding in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee.
Gov. John Bel Edwards confirmed four deaths in Louisiana by trees falling on homes. The deaths occurred in Vernon, Jackson and Acadia Parishes. Two more were confirmed dead by the Calcasieu parish correspondent – including a 24-year-old man who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator in his home and another man who drowned in a boat that sank in ‘ the storm.
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Tower barely
The upper part of a large transmission tower collapsed and fell into the studios of a Lake Charles television news station when Hurricane Laura swept across Southern Louisiana. The general manager at KPLC-TV said no one was injured because all staff members had been evacuated from the station hours before Laura landed. And staff continued to broadcast storm news uninterrupted from sister stations elsewhere in Louisiana. The station published photos online showing that part of the tower was slammed through the roof of the building, and piles of debris scattered in the broadcast studio. KPLC-TV general manager John Ware said on Thursday that the media contact would continue to deliver its regular newscasts while it rebuilt.
Threats continue through into the night
Threats from the remnants of Hurricane Laura set in the country hundreds of miles and well into the night. Forecasters have issued a string of tornado warnings for Mississippi and Arkansas, where Laura is now facing a tropical storm. No major damage has been reported from major disputes, but tornadoes can be particularly dangerous at night. The National Water Service says Laura could dump as much as 7 inches of rain on Arkansas as it continues north away from Louisiana, where it will strike early Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane.
Damage less than anticipated in Louisiana
A full assessment of the damage caused by the Category 4 system probably took days. But despite a trail of demolished buildings, weeks left in ruins and more than 875,000 people without power, a sense of relief was heard that Laura was not afraid of the devastating threat predictors.
Trump to visit the Gulf
After a fundraiser, President Trump took a short drive to FEMA headquarters in Washington for a briefing on Hurricane Laura, where officials informed him of the damage and federal response so far. Trump said he had thought about delaying his RNC acceptance speech last night, but ultimately did not.
“It turned out we were a little lucky,” he said. “It was very big, it was very powerful, but it went through fast.”
He said he would visit the Gulf Coast ‘very soon’, probably on Saturday afternoon or Sunday. The visit would include Texas and Louisiana and potentially an additional stop, he said.
Fire of chemical plants in Louisiana
A fire in a Louisiana chlorine plant erupted Thursday with thick, glowing smoke after Hurricane Laura plowed through part of the country’s petrochemical corridor with storm surges and strong winds, forcing residents around the plant to shelter their homes. . The damage came three years after the month after Hurricane Harvey’s record rains flooded Houston’s refineries, storage tanks and chemical plants, releasing dozens of toxic emissions into the air, land and water from surrounding communities. State and federal planes were in the air Thursday over the mistreated coast of Louisiana, looking for signs of other industrial damage or Laura’s release. At Lake Charles, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality workers with handheld monitors did not immediately release chlorine discovered from the fire at the BioLab plant, said bureau spokesman Greg Langley.
Teenager killed in Louisiana
Gov. John Bel Edwards said the first fatal death from Hurricane Laura in Louisiana was a 14-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on her home. The governors of Louisiana and Texas say search and rescue teams are still searching, but they have so far found reports of widespread deaths.
WATCH: The worst moments when Hurricane Laura hits shore
Where’s Laura now?
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Damage in Louisiana
Messages are coming in from people who were riding Hurricane Laura in Louisiana. Brett Geymann lives in Moss Bluff, just north of Lake Charles, and said the eye of the storm passed directly over her. He says his house has survived, but all other buildings, structures and trees on his property are gone. Geymann says his family is OK, but “there is destruction around” them. He says “It looks like 1,000 tornadoes” passed through, with some houses “completely gone.” Drone video in the Lake Charles area shows water surrounding houses with large parts of their roofs painted, hotels with rooms exposed and giant trees uprooted.
Help from the Tri-State
Early Thursday morning, a task force from Wall Township, New Jersey, was already on its way, and Eyewitness News was there when the truck convoy ran, en route to Baton Rouge. The search and rescue team is highly trained to respond to federal emergencies, and the same team was dispatched last year to provide relief during Hurricane Dorian.
ARE WE RECOMMENDED BY HURRICANE LAURA?
Forecasters expected that a weakened Laura would cause widespread flash flooding in states far from the coast. An unusual tropical storm warning was issued as far north as Little Rock, where forecasters expected storms of 50 mph (80 km / h) and a stream of rain until Friday.
Laura will soon follow to the east coast over the weekend. We could see some storms on Saturday. Check out AccuWeather’s latest forecast here.
The storm was so strong that it was able to regain strength after turning east and reaching the Atlantic Ocean, potentially threatening the densely populated Northeast.
LOOK AT IT: Why did it take a week to get this fallen tree out of a NYC house?
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