Up-to-date coverage and damage reports
It's been a long night on the Gulf Coast. Category 4 Hurricane Laura made landfall around 1 a.m. Thursday morning, causing widespread damage, storm surge and thousands of power outages. We hope you're staying safe from wherever you're reading this, and we hope these updates help.
You're receiving this emergency information newsletter because you subscribe to the Daily Briefing newsletter from one of our Paste BN Network sites in Louisiana, Texas or Mississippi. This newsletter is intended to keep you up to speed on the latest hurricane coverage.
Here's the latest as residents and officials have started to survey the impacts and aftermath of the storm.
Big-picture updates
What happened overnight: Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, at 1 a.m. Thursday as a powerful Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds.
Latest forecast: Damaging winds and flooding rain are spreading inland over central and northern Louisiana. Laura has weakened to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds at 70 mph and will downgrade to a tropical depression tonight, according to the 12 p.m. forecast from the National Hurricane Center.
- Location: 50 miles southeast of Shreveport, Louisiana
- Movement: North at 15 mph
- Maximum sustained winds: 70 mph
Where is Laura headed next?: Want to see the latest on the storm's projected path? Follow along using this live tracker.
Road closures: Portions of I-10 were closed Wednesday night in both directions. Officials asked residents Thursday morning to remain off the road as state police escort 500 to 600 power restoration trucks and crews, according to State Police Colonel Kevin Reeves.
How to help: Early damage estimates have painted a grim picture of what residents along the Louisiana-Texas border might be facing in the aftermath of the storm. Here's the latest info on assistance in Louisiana and Texas.
In Louisiana
Live updates: Follow along for up-to-date coverage on what's happening throughout the state.
- In Central Louisiana: High winds, trees down, roads closed
- In Northwest Louisiana: Flash flood warnings, power outages and more
Reports from Lake Charles:
- Initial look at the damage and aftermath: Residents have started to document Hurricane Laura's impact with photos and video footage.
- Possible chlorine leak: A fire broke out on the west side of Lake Charles Thursday morning, causing gases and smoke to plume over I-10. The fire seems to have erupted at a chemical plant site or oil refinery, according to multiple reports on social media.
- Isle of Capri blown away: The Isle of Capri riverboat casino in Lake Charles broke from its mooring overnight and floated away, wedging itself under the I-10 bridge, according to a report received by Louisiana State Police Maj. Doug Cain.
- Confederate monument damaged: Hurricane Laura damaged a controversial Confederate monument in Lake Charles after officials voted to keep the statue earlier this month.
Victims: Sad news to share as a 14-year-old Leesville girl was killed when a tree fell on her home. A 60-year-old man also died from a fallen tree in Iota, according to WLBT.
Power outages: As of 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Entergy Lousiana reported more than 270,000 customers were without power across Louisiana. See the map of reported outages here.
From Gov. John Bel Edwards: "I will tell you the damage was extensive," Edwards said in an interview with CNN. "The wind speed was as promised. Right now I believe we got a break on the storm surge — about half of what was projected."
Relief efforts underway: The Cajun Navy and other response teams are prepared for relief efforts and staged in Louisiana at Lake Charles and Jennings and in Texas at Baytown and Beaumont.
In Texas
Initial look at the damage and aftermath: Here's what conditions and damage looked like along the Texas coast Thursday morning.
Power outages: As many as 100,000 Texans are without power, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. See the map of reported outages here.
No reported fatalities: The state had no reported fatalities in the initial hours after Hurricane Laura struck but said emergency workers were “still going through the ravages of the storm," Abbott said.
In Mississippi
What's the latest?: Mississippi isn't out of the woods just yet. With watches, warnings and advisories in effect, there's still a potential of severe weather impact in the state.
That's all of our updates for now. We'll check back in with you tomorrow.
Be safe, everyone.
— Megan Kearney, Regional Digital Planner
P.S. How are we doing? We're providing this content for free as a public service to readers, and we appreciate you trusting our journalists to keep you safe and informed. Anything else you'd like to see in this newsletter? Let us know by filling out this short survey. It will help us provide you with the best information possible.