Hurricane Laura, Gulf of Mexico, August 2020

26 Aug 2020

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Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana early Thursday, August 27, 2020. The Category 4 storm was one of the largest to make landfall in the United States. Laura left an extensive trail of damage as it moved inland, not losing its hurricane status for 11 hours after landfall. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed, and at least 14 people were killed. Damage occurred well into central Arkansas. Flooding, tornadoes, and strong winds from the storm caused damage in surrounding coastal states as well. Experts had warned of devastating storm surge, but the storm’s rapid speed kept the surge at about half its expected height. More than 580,000 residents had been warned to evacuate.

Before coming ashore in the U.S., the Laura was a tropical storm that moved over the Lesser Antilles and near Puerto Rico, the island of Hispaniola, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and then Cuba before moving into the Gulf of Mexico and rapidly gaining strength. Thirty-one storm related deaths were reported in Haiti. Laura was the 4th hurricane of the Atlantic 2020 hurricane season.

 

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