Texas, Louisiana brace for Storm Laura as it grows stronger

As the threat of one storm subsided on Monday, another gathered pace, as the US Gulf Coast braced itself for the arrival of Laura as a potentially supercharged Category 3 hurricane with winds in excess of 110 mph (177 kph).

Laura is expected to crash into the US coastal region in the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), as a storm surge threatens to swamp entire towns.

'If you decide to stay, you're staying on your own'

Numerous urban areas have already begun issuing evacuation orders.

The mayor of Port Arthur, Texas, a town with a population of 54,000 people, some 85 miles (137 kilometers) east of Houston, issued a mandatory evacuation, giving residents until 6 a.m. (11 a.m. GMT) Tuesday to leave. Mayor Thurman Bartie said: "If you decide to stay, you're staying on your own."

Several other cities have declared voluntary evacuations.

Lina Hidalgo, the chief executive of Harris County, which includes Houston, urged locals to be vigilant and not "to get cocky" by failing to prepare for all eventualities. "We're leaving no stone unturned with our preparation. Now it is your turn," Hidalgo told reporters.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also urged residents to prepare for the worst, though he said Laura was not expected to cause as much devastation as Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which led to deadly flooding.

Laura claims lives

Still at tropical storm levels for now, Laura grazed just south of Cuba after killing at least 11 people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where it knocked down power and caused flooding in both countries.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Marco made landfall in Louisiana but has begun falling apart, weakening far sooner than expected, easing fears of a back-to-back hurricane scenario .

Marco is now expected to produce nothing more than "gusty winds and heavy rainfall over portions of the Northern Gulf Coast," the NHC said.

jsi/dj (AP, Reuters)