Portions of Interstate 10 shut down ahead of Hurricane Laura's storm surge - NOLA.com

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Portions of Interstate 10 in both directions were shut down Wednesday night to prepare for flooding from Hurricane Laura's catastrophic storm surge, state officials said.

Gov. John Bel Edwards made the call to close I-10 East at the Texas-Louisiana state line and I-10 West near the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge because of "unsurvivable" two-story high storm surge.

Interstate 10 in southwest Louisiana is now closed to traffichttps://t.co/FXIw5vxsVN pic.twitter.com/SgwClWTeSR

— Louisiana DOTD (@La_DOTD) August 27, 2020

“They’re thinking Cameron parish is going to look like an extension of the Gulf of Mexico for a couple of days,” Edwards said on WWL Radio. "I heard language today from the National Weather Service ... that I’ve never heard before."

Edwards urged drivers to take U.S. 61, Interstate 55 and Interstate 59 and drive north before connecting back to I-20 to get around the closures. 

The announcement comes after a press conference where Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Shawn Wilson said a portion of I-10 near Lake Charles would be overtaken by water as Laura inched its way closer to the Louisiana-Texas border. 

Hurricane Laura is a major hurricane that's forecast to bring 20 or more feet of storm surge into Louisiana.

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said Laura is expected to hit the northwestern Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm some time Wednesday night. 

As of the 7 p.m. update, Laura's winds had increased to 150 mph before landfall. If it reaches 157 mph, the storm would be classified a Category 5 hurricane, according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. 

Laura is forecast to strengthen until it hits the Louisiana and Texas coastlines. If the storm's winds do not taper off by landfall, Laura could be recorded as the most powerful hurricane ever to hit Louisiana.

Thousands of residents in southwest Louisiana were told to evacuate, with mandatory orders going out in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes. 

Here is a list of evacuations ordered in south Louisiana:

• Calcasieu Parish: Full evacuation
• Cameron Parish: Full evacuation
• Jefferson Parish: Grand Isle; Jean Lafitte; Lower Lafitte; Crown Point; Barataria
• Lafourche Parish: South of the Leon Theriot Flood Gate (and other low-lying areas)
• Plaquemines Parish: The entire eastbank; areas of the westbank from Phillips 66 refinery to Venice
• St. Mary Parish: Areas south of the intracoastal waterway and other low-lying areas
• Terrebone Parish: Areas outside storm protection system
• Vermillion Parish: Pecan Island; Intracoastal City; Esther; Forked Island; Mouton Cove; areas south of Highway 14

Read the full forecast here.

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Portions of Interstate 10 shut down ahead of Hurricane Laura's storm surge - NOLA.com
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