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Powerful Category 4 Hurricane Laura Makes Landfall on US Gulf Coast

VOA News

   The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Laura has officially
   made landfall in the southeastern state of Louisiana after a long
   journey through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

   Forecasters say Laura touched down early Thursday morning in the
   coastal town of Cameron, Louisiana, located about 86 kilometers south
   of Lake Charles. The NHC says the storm is carrying maximum sustained
   winds of 240 kph, making it a Category 4 storm on the five-level scale
   that measures a hurricane's potential destructiveness.

   The NHC says parts of Louisiana are already experiencing extreme winds,
   catastrophic storm surges and flash floods as Hurricane Laura rapidly
   closes in on Lake Charles and the neighboring city of Port Arthur,
   Texas, at a speed of 24 kph.

   Hurricane warnings have been issued along a 446-kilometer stretch
   between San Luis Pass, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana.

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