Governor Edwards says Louisiana is set to dodge the first of what was thought to be a one-two punch from Marco and Laura.
Edwards says projections of strong tropical storm conditions from Marco in southeast Louisiana appear unlikely to become reality.
“We are going to catch a big break, much of it has sheared off and is no longer even part of the main storm it is up in the panhandle of Florida,” says Edwards.
Some storm surge along the southeast coast is still expected but rain totals and heavy winds from Marco are projected to be at best localized.
Edwards says with Marco fizzling the state is turning its attention to Laura and taking the storm very seriously ahead of its projected Wednesday night landfall in southwest Louisiana.
“The National Guard has more than 2,000 National Guardsmen ready to provide support. They have staged 94 high-water vehicles across south Louisiana, also 55 boats and an even dozen aircraft,” says Edwards.
Laura is projected to be a strong category two at landfall, but Edwards warns conditions are ripe for it to develop into a major category three hurricane.
The Governor did have some good news: last week the state saw the positivity rate of COVID tests continue to drop.
“That number is down to eight percent across the state last week which is an improvement, but obviously still an awful lot of COVID left,” says Edwards.
Despite the recent decline in COVID transmission Edwards says Louisiana is still around 15th in the nation for cases per capita and positivity.
Edwards says those bracing for impact from Laura in southwest Louisiana need to recognize the virus is still very much present as they make their plans.
“Making sure that you have the hand sanitizer, the masks, the other things that you are going to need specifically related to COVID and it also should inform the decisions that you make should you need to shelter,” says Edwards.
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