August 27, 2020 — Hurricane Laura swept ashore early in the morning of Thursday, 27 August, near Cameron, Louisiana, U.S.A., with 150-mile-per-hour winds, but a storm surge that had been feared to reach 15 to 20 feet appeared to achieve about half that height, according to the state’s Governor John Bel Edwards.
Lake Charles, Louisiana, a center of the Gulf Coast petrochemical industry, suffered heavy wind and water damage as the storm surge pushed up to 30 miles inland from the gulf, funneling through ship channels and the Calcasieu River. Around 10:30 a.m., a large fire broke out at an industrial site just outside the city, prompting a warning from authorities for people to seek shelter.