(AP) — Thousands of Gulf Coast residents fled inland from an approaching storm deemed “unsurvivable” by forecasters, heeding warnings from leaders in two states, but leaving some without help as available space in hotels and shelters filled quickly.
Evacuees arrived as far as Ennis, Texas, a city south of Dallas that’s roughly 200 miles from the coast, as the approaching Hurricane Laura grew in power hours before its expected landfall.
Leaders in both Texas and Louisiana urged residents to flee in the final hours before landfall made it too dangerous to travel.