Hurricane Laura - Huge chemical fire spews toxic chlorine gas over Louisiana and at least four dead as Mike Pence is blasted for empty offer of prayers
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Your support makes all the difference.Hurricane Laura strengthened into a Category 4 storm before it made landfall in Louisiana early on Thursday.
The storm arrived with sustained 150mph winds, and officials had warned it would bring an "unsurvivable" storm surge as high as 20ft for coastal areas.
Authorities had urged residents on the coast to evacuate, but not everyone did before the storm hit.
Four fatalities have been reported, including a 14-year-old girl. More than 825,000 homes and businesses are without power.
A fire is burning at a chemical plant near the city of Westlake, with the governor of Louisiana instructing people to stay indoors and turn off their air conditioning.
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Over 700,000 without power across region
According to the latest figures from PowerOutage.us, which aggregates power cuts across the United States, almost 725,000 customers have no electricity in Texas and Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura.
In Louisiana the figure is 585,096, and in Texas it is 139,556.
Louisiana death toll rises to three
A spokesperson for the state of Louisiana has told CNN that two more deaths have been confirmed in the wake of Hurricane Laura.
A 60-year-old man died in Acadia parish, and another man in Jackson parish, after trees fell onto the houses in which they were riding out the storm.
Chemical fire continues to burn
The large chemical fire that has sent a dangerous cloud over Lake Charles, Louisiana, following Hurricane Laura passing directly over the city, continues to burn.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards says the fire was burning Thursday morning just outside the city, and he is advising storm survivors to shelter in place.
Mr Edwards tweeted that people “in the Westlake/Moss Bluff/Sulphur area” should close their windows and doors and turn off their air conditioning units.
Associated Press
Riverboat casino breaks free, gets stuck under bridge
The Isle of Capri’s riverboat casino broke from its mooring during Hurricane Laura and is stuck against the Interstate 10 bridge in Lake Charles, Louisiana State Police Major Doug Cain reports.
The casino says its Grand Palais riverboat houses 34 table games and more than 1,175 slot machines.
Emergency technicians working on chlorine leak at Westlake plant
Louisiana State Police have confirmed that their emergency services unit's technicians are working to help get the chemical leak at the plant in Westlake under control.
Personnel are coordinating with the management of the BioLab facility to deal with the chlorine leak.
They urge local residents to shelter in place and traffic is being diverted off I-10 in the vicinity of the incident.
Louisiana State Police Emergency Services Unit (ESU) technicians are working a hazardous material incident involving a...
Posted by Louisiana State Police on Thursday, 27 August 2020
Laura downgraded to a tropical storm
Laura has been downgraded back to tropical storm status, but sustained wind speeds remain at 70mph.
The system continues to move north at 15mph and has crossed into Arkansas. It is still a large and dangerous storm with heavy rainfall and gusty winds. Flooding remains a concern.
Officially, Laura was classified as a hurricane for 54 hours — much of that as a major hurricane
Trump approves Arkansas emergency declaration
President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration for Arkansas that allows the state to seek federal assistance in deadline with the effects of Hurricane Laura, now downgraded to a tropical storm.
The federal government will cover 75 per cent of the cost of emergency protective measures and direct federal assistance.
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