Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Atlantic Storm Laura Expected to Become Major Hurricane Before Striking US
Gulf Coast

VOA News

   More than half a million people along the coastal regions of Texas and
   Louisiana have been ordered to evacuate their homes as Hurricane Laura
   heads towards theU.S.GulfCoast.

   The U.S.NationalHurricane Center reported late Tuesday night that Laura
   is located about 655 kilometers fromthecity of Lake Charles, Louisiana
   and 695 kilometersof Galveston, Texas. The storm is carrying maximum
   sustained winds of 150 kilometers an hour, making it a Category 1 storm
   on the five-level scale that measures a storm's potential
   destructiveness.

   Forecasters at the NHC expect Hurricane Laura to strengthen to a major
   Category 3 hurricane as it makes its way over the Gulf of Mexico before
   reaching landfall around the Upper Texas and southwest Louisiana coasts
   late Wednesday or early Thursday.

.