LAKE CHARLES, La. — Soon after Hurricane Laura slammed into the Louisiana coast in the dark of night, a city of oil refineries and casinos some 30 miles inland awakened to scenes of unfolding chaos: A 22-story contemporary office tower in Lake Charles with windows stripped and smashed. Plumes of dark gray smoke from a chemical fire staining the blue of a post-storm sky. Wind gusts, measured at up to 132 miles per hour at the local airport, sheared the top of a sky bridge, tossed an R.V. on its side and downed power lines and trees.

Source: New York Times August 28, 2020 01:09 UTC