ORANGE, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders toured areas of East Texas affected by Hurricane Laura. The storm made landfall early Thursday morning near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm.
“We dodged a bullet,” Gov. Abbott said. “But that doesn’t help those whose homes have been hit, whose businesses have been hit.”
The storm, which caused devastation in Louisiana, still caused significant damage across spots in Texas, including Orange, where KHOU’s Drone 11 flew over homes and businesses damaged by Laura.
Abbott said the storm surge in Texas was about three feet, much lower than anticipated.
Laura is considered one of the strongest storms on record to ever hit the U.S., with winds reaching 150 mph, only 7 mph shy of a Category 5 storm.
As of today’s news conference, Gov. Abbott said 160,000 people were still without power, but there were no confirmed deaths from the storm.
To help with the recovery, Gov. Abbott said the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Task Force 1, the Parks and Wildlife division and military were scouring every part of the affected areas to provide search and rescue if needed.
Nearly 8,500 people were given shelter provided by the state during the storm. The governor said those shelters would remain as long as people needed them.
Earlier this week, Gov. Abbott issued a state disaster declaration for 62 Texas counties ahead of the storm and was granted approval for federal assistance.
Texans who have been affected by Hurricane Laura can visit gov.texas.gov/hurricane for resources and more information.
Hurricane Laura damage
With daylight, we got a good look at the damage left behind by Laura. It made landfall at around 1 a.m. Thursday in southwestern Louisiana near Cameron as a category 4 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.