Tropical System Laura

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Hurricane Laura brings tornado threat after Louisiana landfall, Lake Charles 'severely damaged'

The historic Hurricane Laura made landfall early Thursday in Cameron, about 45 miles south of Lake Charles, as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph. In Lake Charles, which took a direct hit, skyscrapers were without glass, while pieces of sheet metal and roofing were seen throughout city streets.



"Some of the building may be total losses. Many roof off massive flying debris," he [Storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski] tweeted. There were also reports of some injuries downtown. "Flying glass from some of the skyscrapers fell on people don’t know the extent of the injuries," Piotrowski said.

“There are some people still in town and people are calling ... but there ain’t no way to get to them,” Tony Guillory, president of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, told the Associated Press early Thursday morning over the phone as he hunkered down in a Lake Charles government building that was shaking from the storm.

Guillory said he hopes stranded people can be rescued later Thursday but fears that blocked roads, downed power lines and flooding could get in the way. Other videos from the area showed road signs bending, trees shaking violently and a large recreational vehicle being blown over.

In Cameron Parish, where Laura came ashore, officials said at least 150 people refused pleas to leave and planned to weather the storm in everything from elevated homes to recreational vehicles. The result could be deadly since forecasters said the parish could be completely covered by ocean water with an "unsurvivable" storm surge of up to 20 feet.

“It’s a very sad situation,” said Ashley Buller, assistant director of emergency preparedness. “We did everything we could to encourage them to leave.” Officials said search missions and damage assessments would begin when conditions allow it.

More than 410,000 electric customers are without power in Texas and Louisiana, according to power-outage tracking website poweroutage.us.

Hurricane Laura brings tornado threat after Louisiana landfall, Lake Charles 'severely damaged'

Hurricane Laura debris nearly takes out Weather Channel reporter on live TV

The Weather Channel’s Stephanie Abrams had a scary moment caught on live TV Thursday morning when she was nearly struck in the head by flying debris while covering Hurricane Laura on the ground in Louisianna.



Ironically, seconds before Abrams was nearly taken out, her colleague reporter Jim Cantore stepped out of his own live shot to find a helmet.

“I really don’t feel like getting whaled on in the head, so I’m just going to put a helmet on out here since I’m standing out here,” Cantore said as he tossed it back to Abrams.

It turned out Abrams was nearly “whaled on in the head” immediately following Cantore’s comment. Voices in the background, presumably Weather Channel staffers, are heard panicking as Abrams was nearly struck.

A dramatic, “Whoa,” is heard off camera and Abrams assured colleagues she was OK. It was unclear what objects nearly hit Abrams, but it appeared to be broken glass ot something similar.

Source: Hurricane Laura debris nearly takes out Weather Channel reporter on live TV