Hurricane Laura will pack 'unsurvivable' surge, leave communities 'unrecognizable'

Hurricane Laura will level structures, down large swaths of trees, take down power lines and bring "unsurvivable" storm surges to Southwest Louisiana's Gulf Coast, National Weather Service meteorologist Benjamin Schott said during a press conference that ended at 12:20 today. The certain devastation of Louisiana's southwest coastal area makes evacuation essential, he said.

"Unsurvivable is not a word we like to use and it's one I have never used before," Schott said.

The "wall of water" coming ashore with Laura will be up to 20 feet high and the winds will be so devastating that people will not be able to recognize their neighborhoods when they return home, he added.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said the National Guard has been activated. As of noon, about 3,000 Guardsmen had been given orders to deploy to South Louisiana to prepare for search and rescue efforts after the storm passes. "That number will increase during the day," he added.

A convoy of National Guard trucks were seen moving south through Hessmer, assumed to be from the Marksville unit. A Guardsmen at the Bunkie armory said that unit has not been given orders for hurricane duty at this time.

Edwards said the Guard had not been activated since Hurrican Isaac in August 2012 and is being done now primarily for what is expected to be an extensive search and rescue effort.

The governor said that could be minimized if everyone in Laura's initial impact zones would evacuate.

He said the window for evacuation "is closing," saying that buses used to move people without personal transportation cannot be used once wind speeds reach 45 mph. That was expected to happen shortly after 1 p.m. in some areas. Personal vehicles would still be safe for a few hours after that.

I-10 was expected to be under water in several places after the storm hits, Edwards noted.

Motorists should not drive into standing water, Edwards said, adding that many deaths when cars are swept off the road by currents that may not be visible before the car enters the deeper-than-expected water.

Areas of the coastal parishes that have never flooded before will be flooded.

Schott said Laura has been compared to Rita and many people are using that as a baseline on how to respond to Laura.

"There is no way to be certain that if you lived through Rita and are hunkering down today in an area that had been given an evacuation ordere that you will survive" this storm, Schott said.

Edwards said storm surge and high winds are only two ways Laura will cause widespread destruction. The storm is also likely to spawn tornadoes that could hit the eastern part of the state, away from the full brunt of the hurricane. Then there will be 10-15 inches of rain falling over the area that could cause local flooding.

Flash floods could occur anywhere from the Gulf Coast to Shreveport, and possibly into Arkansas.

Edwards said the team of state officials and agencies on hand to deal with the hurricane and its aftermath are "the best in the country." He also noted that local sheriff's departments, emergency preparedness agencies, fire departments and police departments are providing assistance.

"Just people being good neighbors to one another," Edwards said. "Certainly we will need more neighborly love as we prepare for respond to and recover from this storm."
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