Hurricane Laura (2020)

Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, around 1 a.m. CDT on August 27, 2020, as a Category 4 hurricane with 130-knot (150 mph) winds and a central pressure of 939 mb, after crossing Hispaniola and Cuba as a tropical storm.¹ Its eye and eyewall then passed over the Lake Charles area, including Sulphur, Westlake and Moss Bluff, while it was still a Category 4.²

Surge flooding reached 12 to 18 feet above ground around Creole and Grand Chenier, and a surveyed high-water mark in Creole reached 17.1 feet.¹ Surge of 6 to 12 feet covered other parts of Cameron Parish and areas near Vermilion Bay, a high-water mark in Cameron reached 11 feet, and water rose 3 to 6 feet above ground in the Lake Charles area.¹ Gusts reached 133 knots (153 mph) at Holly Beach and 119 knots (137 mph) in downtown Lake Charles, and the Lake Charles airport recorded a 116-knot (133 mph) gust before its instruments were destroyed.^1,2 Hurricane-force gusts reached as far north as Natchitoches, and Alexandria recorded a 79-knot (91 mph) gust.²

Wind and surge severely damaged or destroyed numerous homes and other structures from Cameron through Lake Charles, and many structures in Cameron Parish were swept away by the surge.¹ Wind and surge damage was major to catastrophic in Cameron and Calcasieu parishes and considerable in Beauregard and Vernon parishes, and homes and businesses were damaged by wind and falling trees in Jefferson, Orange and nearby Texas counties.^1,2 NHC cites Louisiana's governor as saying 10,000 homes in the state were demolished.¹ NHC counts 7 direct and 34 indirect deaths in the United States. NCEI estimates $19 billion in US damage, including $17.5 billion in Louisiana and $975 million in Texas.¹