A 14-year-old girl in Vernon Parish, Los Angeles, was killed when a tree fell on her home. This was the first confirmed death from Hurricane Laura’s lashing the United State’s Gulf Coast. Two states, Texas and Louisiana are reportedly the worst affected with more than 1.5 million people under-evacuation orders.

The New York Times reports that Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, LA, as a Category 4 storm early Thursday. Packing more than 240 km per hour winds, with a massive storm surge, forecasters project that Laura could spawn tornadoes while moving inland.

Social media videos show the storm’s winds causing catastrophic damage to buildings and vehicles. In Lake Charles dozens of windows were blown out in the 22-story Capitol One tower. The top off a sky bridge was also ripped off. Trees have been felled and power lines have been downed. Utility companies reported that more than 500 000 homes in Louisiana and Texas were without power Thursday morning.

The NYT reports that the storm is amongst the strongest ever to hit the United States, and that the full extent of the damage will not be able to be assessed until the winds die down and the storm surge recedes.

The governor of Louisiana said the state was taking Covid-19 precautions at shelters and in its rescue efforts, while the governor of Texas said “The storm surge and the powerful winds could have led to catastrophic deaths, we no doubt saved lives, because of those evacuations.”

According to the NYT, severe flash flooding is expected to accompany the storm as it pushes inland over Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas over the next two days. Police and emergency workers cannot reach anyone until the storm passes. Mayor Thurman Bartie of Port Arthur, Texas, warned residents who opted not to evacuate: “Know that it’s just you and God”. Meanwhile, in Vermilion Parish, on the Louisiana coast, the sheriff’s office said: “If you choose to stay and we can’t get to you, write your name, address, social security number and next of kin and put it a zip-lock bag in your pocket. Praying that it does not come to this!”

Umm Muhammed Umar