Trouble in the US with Laura, four people dead
Hurricane Laura off the Gulf of Mexico hit the US Gulf Coast at a speed of around 150 mph (240 km / h) on Thursday.
It is one of the most powerful storms to hit the American Gulf Coast so far.
The storm hit Cameroon district in Louisiana just after midnight at local time. Due to this, there were strong winds, many trees were uprooted, buildings were damaged, electric poles fell in many areas and a chemical plant was set on fire.
Louisiana’s gunner Bell Edwards said at a press conference Thursday afternoon that at least four people have died due to the storm.
Four people have died in four different incidents of falling trees at home due to the strong wind, including a 14-year-old girl.
Gunner Bell Edwards said that relief and rescue work is going on in the storm affected areas. He said, “There is a possibility of increasing casualties but I pray that this does not happen.”
He said that the roads and buildings have been damaged more than what was being expected due to the storm. There has been a lot of damage to the electric poles, roads and bridges which will be repaired soon, the roads and bridges which are safe will also be investigated.
However, he says that due to the storm there were no strong waves in the sea and due to this the damage was reduced slightly.
1,500 National Guard Troop personnel have been deployed for relief and rescue operations.
In Washington, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence discussed with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and reviewed the damage caused by the storm. Trump said that he would visit this area in the weekend.
Trump said, “We have good luck. It was a big and powerful storm but it went away quickly.”
At the same time, Mike Pence said, “It could have caused big storms and large-scale damage but it did not cause as much damage as was feared.”
The storm has weakened now and the wind speed has reached 85 km. It has now moved towards Arkansas.
Before this, the storm Laura and Marco had caused a lot of devastation in the Caribbean region and killed about 24 people.
The National Hurricane Center has warned of a rise in water levels in some areas of the coastline, while northern Louisiana and southeastern Arkansas have issued rain warnings.
