Texas county urges evacuated residents to give crews time to clear roads before returning home
Jefferson County in Texas is set to lift its evacuation order at 11 a.m. ET, according to a post on the county Office of Emergency Management page.
The county borders Louisiana to the east and includes Port Arthur and Beaumont.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, along with local law enforcement agencies “are assessing roadways and trying to clear debris.”
“There are several areas throughout our region who have no power at this time. Electrical crews need first priority. It is dangerous to drive on the roadways that have not been cleared. Downed power lines with live wires, downed trees and other random debris could cause you to get injured,” the post says.
The office asks that residents give crews time to clear the roadways before returning to their homes.
Galveston, Texas, says it was “spared” from Laura and lifts its evacuation order
The City of Galveston is lifting its evacuation and curfew orders this morning after the city “was spared the destruction of Hurricane Laura.”
The city said it “did not sustain wind or storm damage, and water is receding in low-lying areas that experienced street flooding,” according to a post on Facebook. Additionally, there are no major power outages to report.
“We’re feeling very fortunate this morning,” the city said.
“While we feel thankful and lucky this morning, our thoughts are with our neighbors along the upper Texas Coast and Louisiana. The City has reached out to our various partners to see how we may be able to provide help to those affected by Hurricane Laura,” Galveston added in the post.
Hurricane Laura has weakened into a Category 1 storm
Hurricane Laura is now a Category 1 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Laura made landfall overnight in Louisiana as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, but it has been weakening as it travels northward through Louisiana.
However, earlier today, Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center, said that Laura is expected to remain a hurricane until it nearly reaches Arkansas.
“We expect Hurricane Laura to still be a hurricane even when you get up to Shreveport, right on the Arkansas border,” he said on CNN this morning.
More than 600,000 customers are without power
From CNN’s Tina Burnside
There are at least 603,331 customers without power in Louisiana and Texas this morning as of 9:30 a.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.US.
Louisiana is experiencing the most significant outages from Hurricane Laura. Here’s the breakdown of reported outages:
- Louisiana: 480,700
- Texas: 122,631
Here’s a look at the damage Hurricane Laura caused in Vinton, Louisiana
From CNN’s Jeremy Grisham
CNN affiliate KXAN shared these pictures taken by their crew in Vinton, Louisiana. The crew rode out the Hurricane from within the eyewall.
Vinton is between Beaumont, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The pictures show the extent of the damage with the roof of a gas station toppled and metal poles torn down.
Roads closed in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
A social media post by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana said, “LA 1 remains closed this morning south of the Leon Theriot Lock in Golden Meadow.”
The office did not have an estimate of when the roadway could potentially reopen. Portions of Lafourche Parish are still under a mandatory evacuation order, the sheriff’s office said.
Northern Louisiana braces for the worst-case scenario
Hurricane Laura is still a Category 2 storm. It will likely still be a hurricane as it approaches the Arkansas-Louisiana border by mid-day.
“Bottom line up front…” writes the National Weather Service in Shreveport. “Laura will likely set the standard for a near worst-case scenario with a landfalling tropical system in our region.”
Hurricane-force winds are likely to spread through the I-20 corridor. This prompted the National Weather Service to expand the hurricane warnings northward through the state.
Later this afternoon, the storm will have moved entirely into Arkansas, with winds and rain diminishing in Louisiana.
“In its wake, however, we will see the brunt of Laura’s impacts as widespread power outages are likely given the wind speeds anticipated over much of the southern half of the region,” the Shreveport weather office said.
Trump will head to FEMA later today to be briefed on Laura
From CNN’s Betsy Klein and Joe Johns
President Trump will visit to the The Federal Emergency Management Agency later today to be briefed on Hurricane Laura, according to White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
The timing of this is still unclear.
Hurricane Laura is still a Category 2 hurricane
The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Laura, which made landfall in Louisiana overnight, remains a Category 2 storm this morning.
“Damaging winds and flooding rainfall spreading inland over western and central Louisiana,” the center wrote in a 9 a.m. ET update. “Life-threatening storm surge continues along much of the Louisiana coastline.”
Earlier, today, Ken Graham, the director of the National Hurricane Center, said that Laura is expected to remain a hurricane as it travels northward throughout Louisiana today.
“We expect Hurricane Laura to still be a hurricane even when you get up tp Shreveport, right on the Arkansas border,” he said on CNN this morning.
