Governor Edwards says worst-case projections for Hurricane Laura did not come to pass, but the state still faces a long recovery…
cut 2 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

Edwards says four people have died in Louisiana as a result of Laura. In each case, it was a tree that fell on a home, including in Leesville where a 14-year-old was killed. Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft says they have numerous trees down…
cut 7 (10) “…limited”

Residents in Westlake, Moss Bluff, and Sulphur have been told to shelter in place because of a chemical fire that contains chlorine from the Biolab Plant. State Trooper Derek Senegal says residents need to stay indoors with doors closed and the A-C off…
cut 13 (09) “…as a precaution”
BioLab is a chemical refinery plant in Westlake close to I-10. They make cleaning products and disinfectants

Congressman Ralph Abraham has been surveying the damage. He started his day in Lake Charles and then began making his way to the north and he’s amazed by the amount of structural damage he’s seen…
cut 11 (16) “…lot of damage”
Senator Bill Cassidy says he’s spoken with President Trump about Laura and the first president could visit the damaged areas in the near future.

Governor Edwards says the state is lucky to have avoided the worst-case scenarios projected for Hurricane Laura just 24 hours ago. Up to 20 feet of storm surge was predicted. Edwards says at most we got 12, and the surge did not push into Lake Charles as was expected. Despite this he says at least four lives have been lost, and…

Cut 14 (11) “shelter”

One of those fatalities happened near Iota in Acadia Parish. Sheriff K-P Gibson says a 68-year-old man died when a tree fell on his home. Gibson doesn’t believe Acadia Parish suffered the type of damage seen in Calcasieu and Vernon, but it could take a while before power is restored…

Cut 9 (11) “…get em up”

Residents of Westlake, Moss Bluff, and Sulphur in Calcasieu Parish are being instructed to stay inside due to a chemical fire at the BioLab plant.  The fire has sent thick smoke into the air that contains poisonous chlorine.  Trooper Dereck Senegal says hazmat teams are on the scene tending to the situation.

Cut 12 (13) “…of it reigniting.”

Hurricane Laura made landfall this morning as a Category Four storm, maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, at 1 AM in Cameron. Lake Charles took a direct hit as they had sustained winds of at least 100 miles per hour. Calcasieu Police Jury President Tony Guillory spoke with us as he surveyed the damage…

Cut 3 (11)  “…major one”  

Laura is now a tropical storm.

Hurricane Laura is now a Tropical Storm but when she made landfall at 1am in Cameron she was a category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. Lake Charles took a direct hit as they had sustained winds of at least 100 miles per hour. Calcasieu Police Jury President Tony Guillory says he’s never seen or felt wind speeds that he experienced when Laura barreled through Lake Charles…

Cut 4 (13)“ …good part” 

At least four fatalities have been reported in Louisiana as a result of Hurricane Laura. A 14-year-old girl in Leesville died when the fierce winds knocked a tree down on her home. Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft says hundreds of trees are down, so it took a while before his deputies could arrive at the scene

Cut 6 (11) “residence”

Congressman Ralph Abraham is out surveying areas of the state that were severely impacted by Hurricane Laura overnight Abraham says power lines and trees are down and debris is everywhere. He also praises first responders who are risking their lives to come to the aid of others.

Cut 11 (11) “…their public.”

His journey began this morning in Lake Charles, through Deridder and then onto Alexandria.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has issued an emergency alert warning for residents of Westlake, Moss Bluff, and Sulphur to shelter in place, and turn off their air conditioning and close windows and doors due to a chemical fire at BioLab this morning and 1-10 in Southwest Louisiana remains closed.

Also, the Isle of Capri Barge River Boat that was lodge under I-10 has been removed.

Hurricane Laura has now downgraded to a tropical storm but so far we know she’s claimed three in Louisiana. In Jackson Parish, a man died when a tree fell on his home. Another fatality happened near Iota in Acadia Parish. Sheriff K-P Gibson says a 68-year-old man died when a tree fell on his home.

Cut 8 (11) “under that tree”

The youngest victim so far is a 14-year-old girl in Leesville who died when fierce winds knocked a tree down on her home. The eye of the storm went right over Vernon Parish. Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft believes it spawned a couple of tornadoes and they had winds of over 120-miles per hour…

Cut 7 (10) “…very, very limited”

Hurricane Laura made landfall this morning as a Category Four storm, maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, at 1 AM in Cameron. Lake Charles took a direct hit as they had sustained winds of at least 100 miles per hour. Calcasieu Police Jury President Tony Guillory (Gill-oh-ree) spoke with us as he surveyed the damage… Guillory says he remembers Hurricane Rita in 2005, but the damage from this storm is worse

Cut 5 (05)  “…structure damage. ”

Laura has now been downgraded to a tropical storm.

Congressman Ralph Abraham started at daybreak today surveying areas of the state damaged by Laura. While the storm surge was half of what was predicted, Abraham says the state however still suffered extreme damage from Hurricane Laura.

Cut 12 (16) “…lot lot of damage”

Hurricane Laura’s fierce winds have left a trail of catastrophic damage. Jeff Palermo has the story…
cut 1 (33) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”

There have been two fatalities reported as a result of Laura, a 14-year-old girl from Leesville and a 68-year man from Iota in Acadia Parish died when trees fell on their homes. There’s also a large chemical fire at BioLab near Lake Charles and residents in the area who did not evacuate have been told to shelter in place and to turn off their A-C units.

Congressman Ralph Abraham is out surveying areas of the state that were severely impacted by Hurricane Laura overnight. Abraham says he started at daybreak in his vehicle at Lake Charles then drove north to Deridder and on to Alexandria.
Cut 10 (10) “…left untouched.”
Abraham says power lines and trees are down and debris is everywhere. He also praises first responders who are risking their lives to come to the aid of others.

The Louisiana National Guard has activated more than three-thousand Guardsmen to assist in the recovery operations. Sergeant Denis Ricou…
cut 25 (12) “….efforts”
Guardsmen have also strategically placed 921-thousand liters of water and 528-thousand M-R-Es for distribution and the soldiers will spend the day helping to clear debris from the roadways.

Hurricane Laura made landfall this morning as a Category Four storm, maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, at 1 AM in Cameron. Lake Charles took a direct hit as they had sustained winds of at least 100 miles per hour. Calcasieu Police Jury President Tony Guillory spoke with us as he surveyed the damage…
Cut 3 (11) “…major one”
Two fatalities have been reported in southwest Louisiana. A 14-year-old girl in Leesville and a 68-year-old man who lived near Iota in Acadia Parish. Both victims died when a tree came crashing through their home.

Laura is still a hurricane at this hour and is 55 miles southeast of Shreveport. Desoto Parish Sheriff Jason Richardson says hurricane-force winds are rare in north Louisiana…
cut 11 (05) “…here”

Governor John Bel Edwards told CNN this morning that we got a break on the storm surge and it was half of what was forecasted, which was as high as 20 feet. But we are seeing images of a fire at a Westlake Chemical Plant in Lake Charles. State Police is reportedly responding as large plumes of smoke are rolling across I-10.

When it comes to the coronavirus, Louisiana will remain in Phase Two until September 11th. Brooke Thorington has more…
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

Louisiana is reporting its first fatality from Hurricane Laura, a 14-year-old girl in Leesville was killed when a tree fell on her. Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft says hundreds of trees are down in his parish, so it took a while before his deputies could get to the scene…
cut 6 (11) “…residence”
Craft says there’s no power in Vernon Parish and the recovery will take weeks.

The eye of the storm went over Lake Charles during the overnight hours. Calcasieu Parish Police Jury President Tony Guillory says he remembers Hurricane Rita in 2005, but the damage from this storm is worse…
cut 5 (05) “…structural damage”
But Governor Edwards has told CNN the 20-foot storm surge that was anticipated did not materialize. He says it was about half of that.

As soon as it’s safe to do so, deputies with the state fire marshal’s office will perform search and rescue missions in the hard-hit areas of Hurricane Laura. State Fire Marshal Browning says they’ve done several Urban Search and Rescue missions in other states, those states are returning the favor…
cut 15 (10) “…shelter”

Governor Edwards has extended the Phase two coronavirus restrictions for another two weeks until September 11th. Edwards says the White House still has Louisiana in the red zone for new cases, and Dr. Deborah Birx, who is with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, noted Louisiana still has more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents.
Cut 9 (06) “…percent.”
The Governor says the next two week period includes Labor Day and past holidays have resulted in a surge in new cases.

Hurricane Laura remains a dangerous Category Two storm with maximum sustained winds at 100 miles per hour. As of Seven AM, the center of Laura is 20-miles north of Fort Polk.

Laura made landfall around 1 AM in Cameron as a Category Four storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. Calcasieu Parish Police Jury President Tony Guillory says Lake Charles took a big hit…
cut 4 (13) “…good part”
Early images from the Lake Charles area shows a lot of structural damage. But Governor John Bel Edwards told CNN this morning that we got a break on the storm surge and it was half of what was forecasted, which was as high as 20 feet. But the governor is reporting a fatality, a 14-year-old girl in Leesville died when a tree fell on her home.

For the first time since 2012, the entire Louisiana National Guard has been mobilized because of Hurricane Laura. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

Laura will continue to churn through Louisiana today heading towards Shreveport as northwest Louisiana should brace for hurricane-force winds. DeSoto Parish Sheriff Jason Richardson says he usually sends a group of deputies to the coast when a hurricane hits, but not this time…
cut 12 (13) “…case”

Hurricane Laura made landfall this morning as a Category Four storm at 1 AM in Cameron. Laura had maximum sustained winds at 150 miles per hour and Lake Charles took a direct hit. Calcasieu Parish Police Jury President Tony Guillory has started to survey the damage…
cut 3 (10) “…major one”
The National Hurricane Center warned Laura could produce unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves. Forecasters say the surge could penetrate up to 40 miles inland. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says search and rescue teams are ready
cut 14 (10-) “…of evacuation”
Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says there were 50 to 150 people in Cameron Parish who refused to leave.

The National Hurricane Center says Laura continues to produce damaging winds and flooding rainfall as it moves along the Louisiana-Texas border. As of 7 AM, Laura’s maximum sustained winds are at 100 miles per hour, so it’s a Category Two storm and its center is located 20 miles north of Fort Polk.

When it comes to the coronavirus, Louisiana will remain in Phase Two until September 11th. Brooke Thorington has more…
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”