Gulf Coast is on high alert and authorities have urged the residents to evacuate to safer locations. The advice is for people in Texas and Louisiana to move out on priority in order to ensure protection of lives and property. The weatherman cautions that the hurricane could cause severe damages because a potentially deadly surge could reach 30 miles inland. The prediction is of strong winds associated with heavy flooding. Forecasters have warned about nearly 13ft of storm surge. The waves could leave entire neighborhoods submerged.

Sky News quotes the National Weather Service saying - "There is danger of life-threatening storm surge with large and dangerous waves producing potentially catastrophic damage from San Luis Pass, Texas, to the Mouth of the Mississippi River.

This surge from Laura could penetrate up to 30 miles inland from the immediate coastline in southwestern Louisiana and far southeastern Texas.” The National Hurricane Centre also cautions about the severity of Hurricane Laura. An official explains - "The waters are warm enough everywhere there to support a major hurricane, Category 3 or even higher." In the opinion of meteorologists, water from the ocean could spill over and cover more than 450 miles of the coast from Texas to Mississippi.

Hurricane Laura targets the Gulf Coast

Hurricane warnings have been issued from Texas and Louisiana.

Experts caution that floods could reach several miles inland leading to large-scale damages to the surroundings. Infrastructure like power supply and communication links could be major casualties. An official of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says the evacuation of residents could increase depending on the direction of the hurricane.

Sky News mentions about the general advice to the people. They should try to put up with relatives or move into hotel rooms to ensure protection against spread of the Coronavirus. Buses in Texas contained protective equipment and disinfectant apart from evacuees who followed social distancing. Hence, there were fewer passengers.

Hurricane Laura killed nearly two dozen people on the island of Hispaniola. The dead included 20 in Haiti and 3 in the Dominican Republic. It also resulted in loss of power and heavy flooding.

The Gulf Coast to face Hurricane Laura

According to The BBC, evacuation orders were issued for thousands from the coastal US states of Texas and Louisiana to escape from the wrath of Hurricane Laura. The direction of the storm is from Cuba and through the Gulf of Mexico. It will be striking both the states by Wednesday. There is another storm in the region. It is Marco and it has already struck Louisiana on Monday. It brought with it strong winds and heavy rain. Both these climatic disturbances have left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean and killed at least 20 people.

US President Donald Trump has issued a disaster declaration for Louisiana. He has also ordered federal assistance to co-ordinate relief efforts. In September 2017, President Donald Trump and Melania visited the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Harvey.

Oil refineries in the Gulf Coast on alert

The nation's largest oil refinery is located in Port Arthur in Texas. The BBC says workers have been taken off from several offshore drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Authorities are on alert. The initial forecast was for both Marco and Laura to hit Louisiana as hurricanes within 48 hours of each other. That would have been a first such incident because the state has never experienced two back-to-back hurricanes.

However, that did not happen. The revised forecast of the US National Hurricane Center means residents along the coast have got more time to prepare. In October 2017, tropical storm Nate became a hurricane and hit the Gulf Coast.
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