Texas governor: Laura could have been much worse

Laura has weakened to a tropical storm after blasting the Louisiana coast with high winds and heavy rain for hours.

The system that came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane is being blamed for two deaths and widespread damage around Lake Charles, an industrial and casino city of 80,000 people. It is the most powerful storm to hit the U.S. this year.

Forecasters predicted an unsurvivable storm surge. More than 580,000 people were ordered to evacuate, but at least some stayed behind. Rescuers have to wait for winds to die down before looking for survivors. Laura is now headed toward Arkansas.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the storm could have been far worse.

"When you consider the magnitude of the damage that could have occurred here, we did dodge a bullet," Abbott said Thursday.

He says a storm surge wasn't as bad as had been feared but there is still heavy damage and he's pledging to help affected homeowners and businesses in his state.

"For those people, we want them to know that we are already working on the process of helping them rebuild," he said.

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