Hurricane Laura already stronger than Katrina, to make landfall within hours in US

Hurricane Laura is expected to bring significant flooding and storm surges into Louisiana as it comes ashore. 

Calcasieu Parish, where the city of Lake Charles is located, has about 100,000 residents who are at risk of possible flooding, parish spokesman Tom Hoefer told CNN. 

Residents who reside below I-10 in the parish are at higher risk of flooding, Hoefer said. 

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said earlier tonight that the state is closing a section of I-10, the east-west interstate that connects much of the Gulf Coast.

Vice President Mike Pence speaks on the third night of the Republican National Convention, at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday, August 26. Kevin Dietsch/Pool/Sipa USA

Vice President Mike Pence spoke briefly about the hurricane tonight during his remarks at the Republican National Convention.

"This is a serious storm, and we urge all those in the affected areas to heed state and local authorities. Stay safe, and know that we’ll be with you every step of the way to support, rescue, response, and recover in the days and weeks ahead. That’s what Americans do.”

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This photo of Hurricane Laura was taken aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday, August 26. Chris Cassidy/NASA

Hurricane Laura is now closing in on the Northwest Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center’s updated advisory.

Here's the latest:

Storm surge warnings, hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings remain in place along the coast and inland, with the advisory warning, "This is a life-threatening situation."

"All preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion in the next few hours," the warning read.

As the outer bands of Hurricane Laura start to impact both Louisiana and Texas, power outages have already begun. 

According to PowerOutage.US, there are over 13,000 customers without electricity in the states -- 8,912 in Texas and 4,115 in Louisiana.

Those numbers are expected to increase throughout the night and early morning.

US Customs and Border Protection sent helicopters to the Gulf Coast earlier today to prepare for a potential recovery effort after Hurricane Laura blows through.

“Air and Marine Operations teams are staging aircraft for resupply, damage assessment, and rescue missions,” the agency said in a press release.

Two Black Hawk helicopters capable of hoist rescues arrived in Louisiana alongside a fixed-wing plane, and the agency says more aircraft are on the way.

Incident commanders are now on the ground in Houston, Texas, and Hammond, Louisiana. Field Operations and Border Patrol agents have also been pre-deployed to provide relief.

Hurricane Laura is only seven miles per hour away from becoming a Category 5 storm -- and is already stronger than Hurricane Katrina, according to CNN meteorologist Tom Sater.

"It's now in the top 10 of the greatest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the continental US," Sater said. "This is going to really make an impact, and not just to the coastline, but well inland."

Sater warned the hurricane's winds -- measuring up to 150 miles per hour -- could destroy homes, buildings, hospitals, cut off power and damage businesses. Power outages could stretch from Houston all the way north through Little Rock, Arkansas, in the coming days.

Parts of the coast are already seeing storm surges of four feet, and that could increase to 15 or 20 feet when the storm makes landfall -- about as high as the top of a second-story building, Sater said.

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A Cameron Parish Sheriff's deputy waves at a roadblock on LA 27 as residents evacuate Cameron in Lake Charles, Louisiana on Wednesday, August 26, ahead of Hurricane Laura. Gerald Herbert/AP

In Cameron Parish, Louisiana, 150 residents have refused to leave during the mandatory evacuation order ahead of Hurricane Laura.

“Out of 6,500 residents, most got out,” said Ashley Buller, Assistant Director of Emergency Operations for the parish.  

“We have a lot of construction workers on (liquefied natural gas) LNG projects,” Buller added. Most of these workers aren't parish residents and live in travel trailers -- some evacuated, but others stayed in the trailers.

Parish sheriff deputies went door-to-door to encourage people to leave.

Hurricane Laura would be the third major storm to strike Cameron Parish in the last 15 years, after Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Ike. Water is the main concern: Hurricane Ike caused huge flooding, and parish officials are bracing for Hurricane Laura to be even worse.

On Wednesday, billboards around Beaumont, Texas, were punctured to prepare for the strong wind Hurricane Laura is expected to bring to the area. 

"I checked with our operations team, and they said that many of our billboard structures have what we call a hurricane frame, which is basically a panel-free frame," said Allie McAlpin, Communications Director of Lamar Advertising, whose team is conducting the hurricane preparations.

"When we are getting ready for a hurricane, we try to remove the vinyls first. As time runs out, we cut the vinyl (which is what you were seeing), so the wind can blow through the structure."

Hurricane Laura is continuing to strengthen on Wednesday evening, as it approaches the Louisiana coastline with winds up to 150 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm is an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane and could see some additional strengthening before making landfall in the next six to eight hours.

If Laura reaches 157 mph or greater, it will be a Category 5 hurricane. A Category 5 hurricane has never hit the coast of Louisiana. 

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