The waters are very warm where the storm is now and will be for the entire path up until the Gulf Coast,” National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Ed Rappaport said. John Bel Edwards said Laura is shaping up to look a lot like Hurricane Rita did 15 years ago when it ravaged southwest Louisiana. Ocean water was expected to push onto land along more than 450 miles (724 kilometers) of coast from Texas to Mississippi. In Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas, mandatory evacuation orders went into effect shortly before daybreak Tuesday. "If you decide to stay, you’re staying on your own,” Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie said.

Source: ABC News August 25, 2020 11:23 UTC