Hurricane Laura caused the death of 6 people, and more than 900,000 people were without power in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.
Laura was one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., a Category 4 storm with winds up to 240 kilometres per hour. The first death from the hurricane, on Thursday, was a 14-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on her home.
Three other fatalities also occurred from falling trees: a 51-year-old man, a 64-year-old woman, and a 68-year-old man from Louisiana.
A 24-year-old male died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his residence. In addition, a man, whose age is unknown, drowned while aboard a sinking ship. More than 580,000 coastal residents were ordered to join the evacuation and many did, filling hotels and sleeping in cars . Laura hit the U.S. after killing nearly two dozen people on the island of Hispaniola, including 20 in Haiti and three in the Dominican Republic, where it knocked out power and caused intense flooding.
Laura was the seventh named storm to strike the U.S. this year. ( Edited from CBS News)
US Bishops Statement -
U.S. Bishops’ President Prays for Life and Safety as Hurricane Laura Makes Landfall
AUGUST 27, 2020
WASHINGTON —Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued the following statement praying for the lives and safety of all those in the path of Hurricane Laura as it makes landfall in the Gulf Coast:
“On behalf of my brother bishops in the United States, I am praying for the safety and well-being of everyone in the path of Hurricane Laura. May God protect their families and their homes and their livelihoods. We pray especially for first responders and health care and emergency workers. I urge our Catholic faithful and all people of good will across the country to stand in solidarity with the communities that will be hard hit by this storm and to please be generous in providing assistance.
We entrust all our brothers and sisters in harm’s way to the Immaculate Heart of Mary our Blessed Mother, and we ask her intercession to lessen the damage and ease the suffering caused by this storm.”
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