Hundreds of thousands of Texans are fleeing their homes as Hurricane Laura gains power and heads to the Texas Gulf Coast, adhering to government warnings about the path and destructive capability of the storm, the Associated Press reports.
With the potential to hit Level 3, the residents of the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur are following mandatory evacuation issued by the government, with nearly 385,000 leaving before the storm makes landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.
In low-lying areas of Southwest Louisiana, storm surges could reach as high as 13 feet, threatening vast areas.
“The waters are warm enough everywhere there to support a major hurricane, Category 3 or even higher. The waters are very warm where the storm is now and will be for the entire path up until the Gulf Coast,” National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Ed Rappaport said.