Weather

The remnants of Hurricane Laura are unleashing heavy rain hundreds of miles inland from a path of death and destruction left along the northwest Gulf Coast.

One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S. pounded the Gulf Coast with wind and rain early Thursday morning, but Laura rapidly weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm by afternoon.

Laura pounded the Gulf Coast with heavy wind and torrential rain, unleashing a wall of seawater on cities in its path.

A fire at a Louisiana chlorine plant erupted with thick, billowing smoke Thursday after Hurricane Laura plowed through part of the country’s petrochemical corridor with storm surges and fierce wind, forcing residents around the plant to shelter in their homes.

The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation and grim warning to residents choosing to ride out Hurricane Laura rather than evacuate.

Hundreds of volunteers, from linemen to boat crews to chainsaw crews, were assisting local governments and first responders to prepare to provide relief in the wake of the hurricane’s destruction.

Hurricane Laura made landfall and brings unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves that will cause catastrophic damage from Sea Rim State Park, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana.