Hurricane Laura Reside Updates : NPR

President Trump listens to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, middle, as he excursions injury from Hurricane Laura, in Lake Charles, La.

Alex Brandon/AP

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Alex Brandon/AP

President Trump listens to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, middle, as he excursions injury from Hurricane Laura, in Lake Charles, La.

Alex Brandon/AP

President Trump visited Louisiana and Texas on Saturday afternoon to survey injury brought on by Hurricane Laura. The storm killed at the very least 14 folks and brought about as a lot as $12 billion in injury.

Air Power One first touched down in Lake Charles, La., to scenes of particles, downed timber and badly broken buildings and houses. Trump deplaned sporting a crimson had that mentioned “USA” on the entrance, and “TRUMP” on the again. He was not sporting a masks.

After a tour of among the hardest hit neighborhoods, the president spoke to first responders, native leaders, FEMA and DHS officals and members of the press.

“That is some devastation,” he mentioned to the assembled crowd, asking Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards how many individuals affected had insurance coverage. The governor responded that about 50% did.

“I am right here to assist the nice folks of Louisiana, it has been an incredible state for me. I really like the folks,” Trump mentioned. “One factor I learn about this state, they rebuild it quick, there is no downside. And we’ll provide what we’ve got to provide.”

He mentioned FEMA has delivered 2.6 million liters of water and 1.four million meals to the world to this point, and that native officers are working onerous to revive water and energy to lots of of hundreds of households.

Whereas Trump did be aware that storms are extra frequent and stronger than these a long time in the past, he didn’t instantly join that to local weather change when requested, saying this space has at all times been liable to storms.

Scientists say that hurricanes usually tend to be bigger and extra highly effective once they type over hotter ocean water. Local weather change is inflicting international sea floor temperatures to rise.

“This was a tremendously highly effective storm,” he mentioned. “In reality, when it got here in it was truly a lot larger than Katrina, I might say, Katrina being considerably of a landmark.”

Saturday is the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall as a Class three storm and devastated New Orleans. Hurricane Laura was a Class four storm when it hit the Gulf Coast. Katrina ranks not solely the costliest-ever U.S. hurricane, however as the costliest pure catastrophe within the nation’s historical past, in response to NOAA. The storm killed 1,836 folks, left hundreds of thousands homeless and brought about an estimated $160 billion in injury.

Noting the anniversary, President Trump careworn that Louisiana would rebuild after this catastrophe too.

“You got here collectively and also you rebuilt. America helped,” he mentioned. “And right here we’re as we speak, and you are going to have this case taken of very, in a short time.”

Gov. Edwards mentioned that though Hurricane Laura didn’t trigger as a lot injury as forecasts initially predicted, the storm left an unbelievable mark on the state.

“With Katrina, folks heard extra about it as a result of the levees broke,” he mentioned. “However that is as dangerous as I’ve ever seen it, people.”

The president then departed for Orange, Texas, one other space hit onerous by the hurricane earlier this week, the place he was met with a spherical desk of members of his personal administration, members of Congress and native public officers.

He started the briefing by noting the injury to Louisiana, saying the state “went by one thing fairly dangerous.”

“I do not suppose that you just bought something like that, in order that’s good,” Trump mentioned of the injury Texas confronted compared to Louisiana.

“In some ways we had a blessing with this hurricane in that it might have been a lot, a lot worse,” Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz mentioned, including that whereas the injury was profound, it was not as excessive because the injury achieved to Louisiana.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mentioned Thursday that the state sustained much less injury than anticipated. 1000’s of Texans misplaced energy, and at the very least 4 folks died in Texas from the storm, in response to experiences.

Trump was requested, once more, in Texas concerning the connection of local weather change to the hurricane. “We have had great storms in Texas for a lot of a long time and for a lot of centuries and that is the best way it’s,” he mentioned. “We deal with them as they arrive. All I can do is deal with them as they arrive and that is what we do and no one has ever achieved a greater job of it.”

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