Laura became a hurricane Tuesday and is expected to continue strengthening until it makes landfall Wednesday night or Thursday morning. With winds of 110 mph, the storm is nearing a Category 3, but could become a Category 4 later Wednesday, CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said. Even when it was just at a tropical storm moving over the Caribbean, Laura killed at least nine people.
And with the Gulf Coast facing the storm next, officials are racing to prepare.
The American Red Cross has pre-positioned 700 workers and relief supplies in the area, the group said.
"We urge people along the Gulf Coast to get ready now; listen to the advice of local officials and evacuate immediately if asked," Greta Gustafson with the American Red Cross told CNN via email.
Mandatory evacuations were issued for "at risk" areas of Chambers County, Texas, Tuesday, according to a County Emergency Management Facebook post. Jasper and Hardin Counties, two smaller Texas counties, have issued mandatory orders as well.
Authorities have waived Houston-area toll roads in anticipation of Laura, Governor Greg Abbott said Tuesday.
"As Hurricane Laura approaches Texas, this waiver will ensure that Texans are able to evacuate efficiently ahead of the storm," Abbott said in a statement. "I urge Texans in the area to continue to take all necessary precautions as Hurricane Laura nears the coast and heed the guidance of local officials."
And shelters in Texas have been preparing for two threats -- stocking personal protective equipment, preparing for social distancing measures and making testing available for coronavirus while the state prepares for Hurricane Laura, Abbott said in a press conference.
'A large and extremely dangerous hurricane'
Laura is likely to fluctuate in intensity over Wednesday, but is expected to make landfall later Wednesday or early Thursday near the border of Texas and Louisiana as a Category 3 or higher, Hennen said.
"Now that #Laura's eye is forming, there's just not a lot of doubt that this will be a large and extremely dangerous hurricane for eastern Texas and Louisiana," National Hurricane Center Senior Hurricane Specialist Eric Blake tweeted. "It is sobering to watch... please be smart if you are in the path."
The storm's largest threats are storm surge, rainfall, and hurricane force conditions. Some areas can see as much as 14 feet of storm surge, CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford said.
From Wednesday through Friday, Laura is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches, with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches across portions of northwestern Gulf Coast. Over the lower to middle Mississippi Valley, 2 to 4 inches of rainfall with isolated totals of 6 inches are expected.
Rainfall at that level can cause widespread flash and urban flooding and small streams to overflow banks, causing minor to isolated moderate river flooding, he said.
Laura's impending arrival comes as the Gulf Coast avoided a powerful storm in Marco, which significantly weakened before reaching the US.
3 years after Harvey
Texas evacuations Tuesday fell on the third anniversary of when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas.
Abbott noted that there were more evacuations announced that than before Hurricane Harvey struck.
Houston is the largest city in the region. It is particularly vulnerable to flooding and could see big impacts from Laura. The concrete-filled city has notoriously poor drainage systems and a propensity to flood, such as during the overwhelming rainfall from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Mandatory evacuations in Jasper and Hardin Counties fall just north of Beaumont, Texas, which was hard-hit during Harvey.
Deaths in the Caribbean
At least nine people have died in the Caribbean, including several in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, due to Laura.
The victims include a 7-year-old boy who died along with his mother after a wall collapsed in their home in the Dominican Republic. Another person died after a tree fell on a house.
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said an army corporal was killed while helping with rescue efforts in Pedernales province.
Five people were killed in Haiti, including a 10-year-old girl, the country's civil protection agency said.
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