Hurricane Laura makes landfall as Category 4 in Louisiana with ‘life-threatening’ surge

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Hurricane Laura slammed ashore in southwestern coastal Louisiana early Thursday with a ferocity that this region has never previously endured. The storm made landfall at 1 a.m. near Cameron, La., about 35 miles east of the Texas border.

The storm, which leaped from a Category 1 on Tuesday to a high-end Category 4 Wednesday night, packed 150 mph peak winds when it crossed the coast.

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The National Weather Service issued an “extreme wind warning” from Beaumont and Port Arthur in Texas to coastal southwest Louisiana for destructive hurricane-force winds. Cameron, La., clocked a wind gust to 116 mph, while Lake Charles recorded a gust to 132 mph.

Laura’s rate of intensification between Tuesday and Wednesday tied for the fastest on record in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Hurricane Center said storm surge inundation could be “unsurvivable,” affecting areas up 40 miles inland from the coast in southwest Louisiana, and that floodwaters may not fully recede for several days after the storm. As of 5 a.m., a surge over nine feet had been observed in parts of coastal southwest Louisiana.

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The National Weather Service issued an “extreme wind warning” from Beaumont and Port Arthur in Texas to coastal southwest Louisiana for destructive hurricane-force winds. Cameron, La., clocked a wind gust to 116 mph, while Lake Charles recorded a gust to 132 mph.

Laura’s rate of intensification between Tuesday and Wednesday tied for the fastest on record in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Hurricane Center said storm surge inundation could be “unsurvivable,” affecting areas up 40 miles inland from the coast in southwest Louisiana, and that floodwaters may not fully recede for several days after the storm. As of 5 a.m., a surge over nine feet had been observed in parts of coastal southwest Louisiana.