The catastrophic Hurricane Laura has made landfall in Louisiana with wind speeds up to 150 miles per hour (240kmph). The Category 4 hurricane is expected to cause an "unsurvivable" storm surge and it would be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the US Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) has warned that Laura is "extremely dangerous", which prompted evacuation of nearly half a million people along Texas-Louisiana state line. Over 385,000 residents were told to flee the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur, and 200,000 people were asked to evacuate low-lying Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana, areas where there will be the massive impact of the hurricane.
There's also flash flood warning as well. Hurricane Laura landfall made shortly after midnight local time (05:00 GMT) near the district of Cameron, in Louisiana. The NHC has advised residents to either evacuate or take precautions to protect your life.
"Get under a table or other piece of sturdy furniture. Use mattresses, blankets or pillows to cover your head and body," the NHC said.
Due to the hurricane's landfall, almost 270,000 homes in Louisiana reportedly lost power on Thursday. In Texas, more than 65,000 homes suffered power outage. With Category 4 hurricane, well-built homes can suffer massive damage to the roofs, high-rise building windows will be shattered, trees can be uprooted, electricity poles can be snapped, and water shortage can last for days or even weeks. Regions hit by the hurricane will be inhabitable for weeks or even months.
