(Bloomberg) — Hurricane Laura is poised to slam ashore as the most powerful hurricane to ever strike Louisiana, threatening the region with deadly storm surges, flash floods and devastating winds that could inflict more than $15 billion in insured losses.
With winds of 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour, Laura is matching the previous record breaker, the Lost Island Hurricane of 1856. While it’s not expected to worsen beyond its current Category 4 strength, the storm surge could penetrate 40 miles inland, with flood waters not fully receding for several days, the the National Hurricane Center said.
Laura extends an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season that still has three months to go. It will be the seventh system to hit the U.S., a record for this time of year, and the first major hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast since Michael in 2018. Laura has prompted mandatory evacuations in coastal areas and is targeting the heart of America’s energy industry, shutting more than 80% of Gulf oil production and a third of the region’s refining capacity. It’s also coming with more power than Hurricane Harvey had when it made landfall in Texas in 2017.
For anyone living in an area that floods or is in the direct path of Laura’s landfall, “there is no calculation to be made: Get out,” said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler with Enki Research. “Whatever fears you might have about Covid are secondary — even those with health issues that might make riding out a weaker storm an option.”
Late Tuesday night in Louisiana, a major highway evacuation route west to Texas had been closed because of high winds. Meanwhile, authorities in one coastal community urged residents who refused to comply with evacuation orders to keep personal identification information and family contacts in plastic bags in their pockets.
The power grid operator for the U.S. Midwest is already bracing itself. The system manager Midcontinent Independent System Operator has issued a severe weather alert through Thursday and said it has back-up operations ready. Meanwhile, New Orleans-based utility giant Entergy Corp. has requested mutual assistance, and said it has tens of thousands of workers from 20 states preparing to assist in restoring power following the storm.
The storm could cause as much as $25 billion in damage and economic losses, Watson said. The destruction to refineries could cost $5 billion alone.
Key Developments:
Laura to Join Costly List of Catastrophic Gulf Coast HurricanesTracking Hurricane Laura as It Threatens to Slam U.S. Gulf CoastOil Near Five-Month High With Hurricane Menacing U.S. RefineriesDozens of Oil Tankers Clustered in Western Gulf Before LauraU.S. Coast Guard Closes Houston, Galveston, Freeport PortsCameron LNG Pulls Last of Hurricane Crew From Threatened PlantU.S. East Coast Gasoline at Risk of Spike Post-Laura: GasBuddy
See the latest from Bloomberg QuickTake:
Hurricane Laura Not Expected to Intensify: NHC (11:24 p.m. NY)
While it remains “extremely dangerous,” Hurricane Laura is no longer expected to intensify from its current Category 4 strength because it has so little time remaining over water, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm, with maximum sustained winds now expected to stay about about 150 miles per hour, was about 75 miles south of Lake Charles, Louisiana, as of 11 p.m. New York time.
The storm surge may now penetrate as much as 40 miles inland, and flood waters won’t recede for several days after the storm, the NHC said. Catastrophic wind damage is expected where Laura’s eyewall moves on shore.
Major Storm Evacuation Route Closed by High Winds in Louisiana (11:01 p.m. NY)
Interstate 10, a primary evacuation route for Louisiana residents fleeing Hurricane Laura, has been closed, according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
Westbound traffic has been halted west of Atchafalaya Basin, while eastbound flows into the state have been stopped at the Texas border, it said in a tweet.
The closure will force evacuees to seek alternate routes, including highways to the north, or abandon plans to escape the storm just hours before it is expected to make landfall.
Hurricane Laura ‘As Bad As It Gets,’ Says Former FEMA Chief (10:28 p.m. NY)
Hurricane Laura is “about as bad as it gets,” Craig Fugate, a previous administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.
Fugate, who headed the agency under President Barack Obama, said the storm surge from the hurricane would affect a very vulnerable area, with power outages and destruction from winds expected.
“We keep setting records each year with these extreme weather events,” Fugate said during an interview Wednesday evening on Bloomberg Television.
U.S. EPA Preps for Fuel-Standard Waivers If Shortages Emerge (9:45 p.m. NY)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing for emergency waiver requests from fuel standards to deal with possible gasoline shortages after Hurricane Laura comes ashore.
The waivers have been used in the past to help get supplies to storm-ravaged areas and blunt shortages after pipeline failures. A team is ready to expedite requests, the EPA said.
If EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler determines “extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances exist in a state or region as a result of the hurricane, a temporary waiver can help ensure an adequate supply of gasoline is available in the affected area, particularly for emergency vehicles,” the agency said in news release.
Louisiana Sheriff Warns Hold-Outs to Keep Personal Info in Plastic Bag (9:37 p.m. NY)
Authorities in Louisiana’s Vermilion Parish, which lies on the Louisiana coast, made a grim request TO residents who have refused to follow mandatory evacuation orders: “Write your name, address, social security number and next of kin and put it a Ziplock bag in your pocket,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
“Those choosing to stay and face this very dangerous storm must understand that rescue efforts cannot and will not begin until after storm and surge has passed and it is safe to do so,” the sheriff’s office said.
EPA Expands Superfund Sites Monitored for Contamination in Texas & Louisiana (9:21 p.m. NY)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has raised the number of Superfund sites it’s assessing, increasing it to 48 in Texas and 27 in Louisiana, including former petrochemical facilities such as Brio Refining Inc. and Dixie Oil Processors Inc. in Harris County, Texas. One major concern is that violent winds and a storm surge could inundate former industrial facilities, dislodging contaminated soil and spreading toxic deposits throughout the nearby communities.
Heavy Rains Begin to Spread Onshore Louisiana Coast: NHC (7 p.m. NY)
Sustained tropical-storm-force winds and steady, heavy rainfall was beginning to spread onshore the central Louisiana coast, the National Hurricane Center said. Laura was about 130 miles (210 kilometers) south of Lake Charles, Louisiana, at 7 p.m. New York time, the NHC said..
Pete Gaynor, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is warning of “unsurvivable surge” from the storm.“If you are under evacuation orders, take action, get yourself out,” Gaynor told Fox News Wednesday. “Don’t put yourself and your family at risk.”
Heart of America’s Petrochemical Boom Braces for ‘Night of Hell’ (6:06 p.m. NY)
America’s fast-growing petrochemical and refining network on the Gulf Coast is about to get its biggest test as it braces for a direct hit from Hurricane Laura.
While Houston will likely escape the worst of the hurricane’s impact, parts of Texas and Louisiana that have seen massive investment in recent years from the energy industry won’t be so lucky.
The stretch of coastline that will feel Laura’s impact accounts for about a quarter of U.S. oil refining capacity and half of North America’s production of ethylene, a key plastic raw material, according to Independent Commodity Intelligence Services, not to mention newly built liquefied natural gas export terminals. The rapid growth of petrochemical facilities over the past decade, fueled by the U.S. shale boom, has raised the potential for fatalities, as well as vast financial and environmental damage.
EPA Worried Over Contaminated Soil, Toxic Deposits After Storm (5:49 p.m. NY)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it was conducting assessments of 23 so-called Superfund sites that are contaminated with hazardous substances in Louisiana, and 35 in Texas.
One major concern is that violent wind and storm surge could inundate Superfund sites, dislodging contaminated soil and spreading toxic deposits throughout the nearby communities.
Earlier, regional EPA staff, state agencies, site operators and other stakeholders coordinated on how to “secure the sites against potential damage and releases to the extent practicable,” EPA spokeswoman Molly Block said by email.
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