Hurricane "Laura" will hit the southern United States, more than 500,000 residents are required to evacuate

　　China News Agency, Houston, August 25. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on the 25th that tropical cyclone "Laura" was upgraded to a first-degree hurricane in the morning of the same day and is currently approaching the U.S. Gulf Coast. It is expected that "Laura" on the night of the 26th "It will land on the coastal areas of Texas and Louisiana with the wind of a Category 3 hurricane.

　　According to the Associated Press, the NHC reported that "Laura" was moving toward northwestern Cuba at a speed of 16 miles per hour on the morning of the 25th. "Laura" will draw energy from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall in the southern United States on the night of the 26th, when the maximum sustained wind speed will reach 115 miles per hour.

On August 23, local time, there was a long line outside a supermarket in Houston, Texas, and local people purchased supplies in response to the hurricane disaster. Photo by China News Agency reporter Zeng Jingning

　　NHC predicts that Hurricane Laura will "violently attack" the coastline from Texas to Mississippi about 450 miles.

　　According to comprehensive media reports, NHC predicts that by then, the coastal cities of Beaumont, Galveston, Port Arthur in southeastern Texas, and the low-lying areas of southwestern Louisiana will usher in a 13-foot storm surge, and some houses are expected to be flooded. So far, more than 500,000 residents in these areas have been asked to evacuate.

　　In addition, there are about 643 rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, of which more than 40% have been temporarily suspended, and workers on the rigs have been forcibly evacuated.

　　According to "USA Today", as the new crown virus is still spreading in many southern states of the United States, the local government requires people to wear masks when seeking shelter. The government also encourages people to go to relatives or hotels to avoid disasters to avoid spreading the new crown virus.

　　According to ABC reports, "Laura" recently attacked Haiti and the Dominican Republic, causing severe floods, killing at least 10 people and causing massive power outages.

　　Another tropical cyclone "Marco" that has been active in the Gulf of Mexico recently has gradually weakened from a first-degree hurricane to a tropical storm without affecting the southern United States. (Finish)