Published 15:39 IST, August 23rd 2020
Two tropical storms Laura and Marco to make a landfall off US Gulf coast soon
On August 22, two tropical storms posed threat to the United states as they swept through various places. A hurricane watch was issued for the New Orleans metro
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On August 22, two tropical storms posed threat to the United states as one swept through Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola while the other severely hit the gulf through the gap between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba. Reports suggest, it was predicted that the tropical storms Laura and Marco were to hit the coast at Louisiana. Also, a hurricane watch was issued for the New Orleans metro area.
Two tropical storms advance across the Caribbean
According to reports, this is the first time that two storms have together hit the Gulf of Mexico since the year 1959. Reports by the National Hurricane Center suggests that the tropical storm Marco, which swirled over the Gulf of Mexico on August 22, is predicted to hit the US Gulf Coast as a hurricane later this week. However, there are a lot of uncertainties as the weather forecasts have varied greatly. Tate Reeves, the Governor of Mississippi said in a news conference, “We are in unprecedented times”, as he declared a state of emergency. He added, “We are dealing with not only two potential storms in the next few hours, we are also dealing with COVID-19”.
Report by AP suggests that Raymond Monday of Gretna had only a generator on his cart at Sam’s Club. He said, “We’ve got a freezer full of food” at home, along with large containers of water”. People in Louisiana made a run to grocery stores to stock up on food and other supplies. On August 22, storm Laura hit Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It was predicted to move over Cuba on August 23. In Puerto Rico, the storm reportedly left 200,000 clients without power and more than 10,000 without water. Officials were concerned about the people living under blue tarps in Puerto Rico. According to the reports, Laura was centered about 25 miles southeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, late on August 22. Crews in the Dominican Republic evacuated dozens of families before the storm began moving over Hispaniola.
The tropical program coordinator for the National Weather Service, Joel Cline, told AP, “A lot of people are going to be impacted by rainfall and storm surge in the Gulf of Mexico”. He added, “Since you simply don’t know, you really need to make precautions”. University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy said that it seems strange for such a threat to arrive in 2020. McNoldy told AP, “Of course, we have to have two simultaneously land-falling hurricanes. It's best not to ask what’s next”.
(Image Credits: AP) (With inputs from AP)
Updated 15:39 IST, August 23rd 2020