Hurricane Laura’s high winds and ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge start to hit Texas, Louisiana

The storm, which would be the first major hurricane of 2020, prompted the largest U.S. evacuation during the pandemic. More than half a million people in the storm’s path have been told to flee their communities. About 385,000 residents were told to flee the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur, and another 200,000 were ordered to leave low-lying Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana.