Southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas are bracing for the impact of a Category 3 hurricane with the landfall of Laura around 1 AM Thursday morning. Governor John Bel Edwards says while the forecast has remained pretty consistent, the forecasted track has taken a slight shift to the east.
“Obviously every mile that it comes to the east, that means that the severe impacts get pushed into Louisiana even further,” said Edwards.
Edwards says the storm continues to show parallels to Hurricane Rita in 2005.
Edwards urges all of coastal Louisiana to brace for storm surge.
“This is going to be a significant amount of storm surge and from the Texas line to Morgan City is where that is going to be most pronounced,” said Edwards.
Edwards encourages residents to be where they will ride out the storm by noon today. Edwards says for the first time, the state is focusing on pre-landfall non-congregant shelter and has booked hundreds of rooms at hotels and motels for sheltering needs.
“The good news is, FEMA has approved the use of hotels and motels in place of congregate shelters and we are incredibly appreciative of that,” said Edwards.
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