HURRICANE LAURA HEADING TO THE US
Brace yourself America, Hurricane Laura is on the way.
The category 4 hurricane is on the verge of being classified as a category 5 hurricane due to the tropical storm force wind speed picking up.
Extremely heavy rain and dangerous winds that accompany the storm have been earmarked by CNN’s meteorologist, Tom Sater, as already stronger than Hurricane Katrina. Sater warned the hurricane’s winds of up to 241 km/h could destroy homes, buildings, hospitals, cut off power and damage businesses.
As it heads to the two neighbouring coastal states of Texas and Louisiana on the Gulf Coast of the United States, locals are being advised to evacuate.
The United States National Hurricane Centre said on Wednesday that little time remains to protect life and property as the "unsurvivable" storm surges of up to 4.5 metres hit.
The hurricane is expected to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday GMT-4 as CNN reports that Texas and Louisiana are reporting over 13,000 power outages combined already.
After hitting Texas and Louisiana, it is expected to move inland towards Arkansas, where heavy rains and extremely strong winds will still likely cause major havoc.
CBS reports that at least 20 million people are in the storm’s path and over half a million people have been ordered to evacuate.
Watch the NBC video below to see the visual effects of the storm as it moves closer to the US.
Image credits: Google Maps and Insider