Almost exactly 15 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Laura made landfall in Louisiana early Thursday morning as a Category 4 storm.
And just like in 2005, Utah Task Force 1 deployed 80 state emergency responders to Louisiana overnight Wednesday to help with rescue efforts. The last time the Utah Task Force deployed to help in the aftermath of a hurricane was two years ago in Virginia, after Hurricane Florence hit the area.
While Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm 15 years ago in New Orleans, Hurricane Laura made landfall on the western side of the state, along the Texas border. The storm surge was expected to “cause unsurvivable storm surge” of up to 20 feet and up to 40 miles inland, according to the National Hurricane Center on Wednesday.
By Thursday morning, Hurricane Laura had downgraded to a Category 1 storm as it made its way into northern Louisiana, but was expected to maintain hurricane status as it neared Arkansas.
The task force is driving 36 hours to Baton Rouge, where they’ll be ready to help in any way they can after arriving, and are expected to be deployed for up to a couple of weeks depending on the damage caused by Hurricane Laura.
“The boats that we’ve got loaded already, it’s probably going to be getting people out of their houses, people off of rooftops, just people that have been stranded, often pets,” Jake Schaugaard, a rescue specialist with Unified Fire Authority, told FOX 13.
Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is a content partner with FOX 13.
