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Weakened but Still Dangerous, Laura to Pose Continued Threat

Associated Press

   LAKE CHARLES, LA. - Remnants of Hurricane Laura unleashed heavy rain
   and twisters hundreds of miles inland from a path of death and mangled
   buildings along the Gulf Coast, and forecasters warned an eastern turn
   would again make the storm a looming threat, this time to the densely
   populated Eastern Seaboard.

   Trees were down and power was out as far north as Arkansas, where
   remnants of the storm that killed at least six people in the United
   States were centered. The once-fearsome Category 4 hurricane packing
   240-kph winds weakened to a depression after dark.

   New tornado warnings were issued after nightfall in Mississippi and
   Arkansas, hours after one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike
   the United States barreled across Louisiana on Thursday.

   A reported tornado tore part of the roof from a church in rural
   northeastern Arkansas as the remnants of Hurricane Laura crossed the
   state. No injuries were reported as the system still packed a punch
   after smashing into Louisiana's Gulf Coast near the line with Texas.

   A full assessment of the damage could take days. By then, the storm
   could re-energize and pose a threat to several Northeast states by
   Saturday, forecasters said.

   Despite demolished buildings, entire neighborhoods left in ruins and
   almost 900,000 homes and businesses without power along the coast, a
   sense of relief prevailed that Laura was not the annihilating menace
   forecasters had feared.

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