20-foot storm surge from Laura possible as LA governor begs residents to get out now

Southwest Louisiana could see catastrophic storm surge that could top 20 feet in places, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Wednesday morning, as he pleaded with people to flee the region before the weather gets too bad to travel this evening.

Edwards said on the Weather Channel that forecasters told him the storm surge predictions have been increased to 18 feet from the Texas state line to around Vermillion Parish.

“This storm surge is just going to be tremendous,” Edwards said shortly before the latest National Weather Service advisory.

Interstate 10, the main thoroughfare through south Louisiana, will likely be overtaken by water and close in southwest Louisiana, Edwards added.

The governor also said the state has put up more than 1,000 people in hotel rooms last night and will evacuate more today. But the state’s buses will probably have to stop running by early afternoon because of high winds, he said.

The governor implored residents of southwest Louisiana to leave before the storm hits, likely as a Category 4 hurricane. It was a Category 3 hurricane as of Wednesday morning and was set to make landfall near the Louisiana-Texas border early Thursday morning.

“By 4 or 5 o’clock (Wednesday) we think the weather is going to degrade to the point where we just can’t have organized evacuations,” Edwards said.

Louisiana is busing evacuees to hotels as part of a new strategy coordinated with the federal government to avoid sheltering people in mass shelters because of the pandemic.

Edwards will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. Check back for more.