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”

Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category Four hurricane early this morning in Cameron, with maximum sustained winds at 150 miles per hour. It goes down as the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana in 164 years.

State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says about 500 Urban Search and Rescue team members, many from other states, are ready to help in the aftermath…
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

The Louisiana National Guard has more than three-thousand Guardsmen who are ready to assist in search and rescue operations. Sergeant Denis Ricou…
cut 5 (12) “….efforts”
Guardsmen have also strategically placed 921-thousand liters of water and 528-thousand M-R-Es for potential distribution.

Hurricane Laura is now a Category Two storm with maximum sustained winds at 110 miles per hour. The center of the storm is 45 miles north-northwest of Lake Charles.

The storm will continue to head north on the western side of Louisiana. Desoto Parish Sheriff Jayson Richardson says they are expecting hurricane strength winds…
cut 11 (05) “…wind of event here”
And five to eight inches of rain, possibly up to 10 inches.

cut 30 wind
That’s the sound of wind whipping through Lake Charles as Hurricane Laura is roaring through southwest Louisiana after making landfall early this morning in Cameron as a Category Four storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. A news crew from Mobile, Alabama has released a video that shows part of the roof being blown off the Golden Nugget casino in Lake Charles.

The entire Louisiana National Guard has been activated. Sergeant Denis Ricou says they have plenty of food and water to take care of storm victims…
cut 6 (08) “….to eat”
Water rescues will be likely. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says Urban Search and rescue personnel have come in from other states…
cut 15 (10) “…work with”

Laura has weakened to a Category Three hurricane as the center of the storm is 30 miles north-northwest of Lake Charles. An estimated 300-thousand households in Louisiana are without power and those power outages extend into northwest Louisiana. Desoto Parish Sheriff Jayson Richardson says he usually sends a group of deputies to the coast when a hurricane hits, but not this time…
cut 12 (13) “…case”

Governor Edwards says the state has made progress in its fight to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, but he’s extending Phase two restrictions for another two weeks through September 11th. Edwards says he wants to see how the return of the school year has impacted the spread of the virus…
cut 7 (13) “…positivity”
Edwards says it will be difficult to keep track of the virus as testing will be reduced due to the storm.

After making landfall in Cameron around one o’clock this morning as a Category Four hurricane with 150 mile per hour winds. Laura’s maximum sustained winds are down to 120 miles per hour as it continues to move northward over southwestern Louisiana at 15 miles per hour. The center of the storm is 30 miles north-northwest of Lake Charles.

The entire Louisiana National Guard has been activated for this monster storm, which was expected to produce a 20-foot storm surge. Sergeant Denis Ricou says that means over three-thousand guardsmen…
cut 4 (12) “…government”
The state fire marshal’s office has search and rescue teams ready. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning..
cut 14 (10-) “…of evacuation”

As we told you in the first segment, Laura, with 120-mile per hour winds is making its way towards northwest Louisiana where Hurricane warnings are posted as far north as DeSoto Parish. Sheriff Jason Richardson says they dealt with Hurricane Rita in 2005, but Laura could top that…
cut 10 (10) “…we’ve seen”

Governor Edwards has extended phase two coronavirus restrictions for another two weeks until September 11th. Mass evacuations out of southwest Louisiana is one of the reasons why it was extended. Edwards says hundreds of thousands left for other parts of the state and that region has the highest positivity rate in Louisiana. And…
cut 8 (09) “…shelters”
The state reported 846 additional coronavirus cases yesterday and 32 deaths.