“Earlier this year, we had a lightning strike that took out a lot of media in our house: our Wifi, and our televisions, and that sort of thing. Residents in the area are being told to close their doors and windows, turn off their air conditioning and stay inside. Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved. An EF2 tornado touched down in Randolph County Thursday as Hurricane Laura turned into a tropical storm in Arkansas. But a Calcasieu Parish official said they asked for public comments, and got 878 written responses against relocating the monument, and only 67 in favor of moving it. — Louisiana State Police say they’re responding to a chlorine leak at a company that makes chemicals along Interstate 10 just west of Lake Charles, La., which was hard-hit when Hurricane Laura slammed into the Gulf Coast early Thursday. One death in Jackson in north Louisiana demonstrated the power of the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm early Thursday, and traveled farther inland. BioLab’s Lake Charles plant was built in 1979 and manufactures trichloroisocyanuric acid, chlorinating granules and other chemicals used in such household cleaners as Comet bleach scrub and pool chlorine powder. Edwards said storm surge was measured in the range of 9 feet to 12 feet (2.7 to 3.7 meters) — bad but far less than the 20 feet (6 meters) that had been forecast. The casino says its Grand Palais riverboat houses 34 table games and more than 1,175 slot machines. Police say the leak is at the BioLab chemical manufacturing facility in Westlake. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Edwards said the current priority is search and rescue, followed by efforts to find hotel or motel rooms for those who have lost their homes. KPLC-TV General Manager John Ware said Thursday that the media outlet would continue to deliver its regular newscasts while it rebuilds. “It’s amazing. Month. State. The fatalities included a 24-year-old male that died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator inside his residence, Mike Steele, communications director for the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said. Many schools canceled classes or had early dismissals in anticipation of Laura’s arrival. National Weather Service officials said the remnants of Hurricane Laura could spawn tornadoes and cause flash flooding in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee. Arkansas Gov. “We saw a wisp of rotation in some clouds. The governors of Louisiana and Texas say search and rescue teams are still looking, but they’ve found no reports so far of widespread fatalities. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service announced the rating for the tornado that touched down in Botetourt County on Saturday. So, the rain was pounding and I’m really shocked that we did not hear any of these trees crash down. They had me use my compass on my phone,” said Slaubaugh. The storm is hitting during the state’s first week back at public school since March. More than 700,000 people in Louisiana and Texas were without power Thursday afternoon, according to the website PowerOutage.Us, which tracks utility reports. Hutchinson said the state will have search and rescue teams on standby. Abbott on Thursday described seeing roofs sheared off buildings and uprooted trees following aerial tour of the damage near the state border with Louisiana. — Early reports emerging in the wake of Hurricane Laura show less damage than what was feared. MIAMI — The National Hurricane Center says Laura remains a hurricane, sustaining top winds of 75 mph (120 kph) more than 170 miles (274 kilometers) after landfall. The Associated Press. Major roof damage was reported in the Goobertown, a community 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Jonesboro, Presley said. This makes it a higher-end EF0 and nearly and EF1. — FHP Orlando (@FHPOrlando) August 19, 2020 Possible tornado leaves homes damaged, cars overturned in DeLand Video shows potential funnel cloud in DeLand during tornado warning It is a potent irritant to the eyes, throat and lungs. The hurricane is expected to keep drenching Louisiana and then Arkansas as a tropical storm, causing widespread flash flooding and damage from winds. Nearly all businesses appeared to be closed as much of the area was still without electricity. — Tropical Storm Laura is thrashing parts of southern Arkansas with powerful winds and heavy rainfall as the storm system lunges its way through the state after battering the Louisiana Gulf Coast. — Louisiana officials now know of 6 deaths tied to Hurricane Laura. AUSTIN, Texas — Police in Austin, Texas, say a bystander was shot and killed after a fight broke out among 60 people who had fled the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Laura. The information is courtesy of the National Weather Service in Memphis, TN via Twitter. Meanwhile, Presley says rescue crews were working to extricate a woman after she was trapped when storm winds dropped a tree limb on her mobile home in Jonesboro. And nearly 12 hours after landfall, Abbott says there were still no confirmed fatalities. Many homes had wind damage or damage from fallen trees. The tornado was on the ground for 1.2 miles and the path was 75 yards wide. Craighead County was under a tornado warning with there was a report of a tornado on the ground Thursday night near the Refuge Baptist Church in the western end of Lake City, Arkansas, 15 miles east of Jonesboro. The storm surge that was predicted to be as high as 10 feet (3 meters) before landfall wound up being closer to 3 feet (0.9 meters), he said. Author: 5NEWS Web Staff Published: 8:03 PM CST November 15, 2020 Edwards tweeted that people “in the Westlake/Moss Bluff/Sulphur area” should close their windows and doors and turn off their air conditioning units. Laura is now a Category 1 hurricane but still blowing hard enough to be deadly. The system maintained hurricane strength for about 11 hours before being downgraded to a tropical storm. Asa Hutchinson declared an emergency and set aside $250,000 for the state to prepare for the hurricane’s impact. — A large chemical fire has sent a dangerous cloud over Lake Charles, Louisiana, hours after the eye of Hurricane Laura passed directly over the city. A tornado tore through a small city in Arkansas on Saturday evening, ripping roofs off buildings, flipping cars and prompting a curfew for residents. Lindsey joined the WSLS 10 team as a reporter in February 2019 and is thrilled to call Roanoke her new home! By Thursday afternoon, crews were clearing debris from streets and fixing power lines. A 4th tornado, rated EF-1, in Southwest Arkansas was confirmed by the National Weather Service in Shreveport. And as big as they are and as close to the house as they are, I’m surprised we didn’t feel the ground shake or hear anything at all,” said Smith. The other tornado is rated EF-1 with winds 90 to 100 MPH. Abbott said the hurricane’s storm surge hit the east Texas communities of Port Arthur, Beaumont and Orange “pretty hard” overnight and the eye of the hurricane has continued to move about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north along the Texas-Louisiana state line. Meteorologist Chris Michaels is an American Meteorological Society (AMS) Certified Broadcaster, forecasting weather conditions in southwest Virginia on WSLS 10 News from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays on Virginia Today. 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