Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is preparing the state for a one, two punch from Hurricanes Marco and Laura over the next four days.
"We are going to get basically a right hook from Marco and then a left hook from Laura," Edwards described Sunday night.
He said Hurricane Marco is forecast to hit the Louisiana coast on Monday south of New Orleans and then turn and hug the coast on a path to the western portions of the state before moving into Texas.
"We haven't had a Category 3 hurricane in Louisiana since Hurricane Rita in 2005," Edwards noted. "I know that that particular year brings up horrific memories and images for all of us in Louisiana."
The governor stressed that significant progress has been made in the state since that year that also saw Hurricane Katrina devastate Southeast Louisiana that year that Rita dealt a massive blow to the Southwestern part of the state.
"Tremendous progress has been made in Louisiana in terms of the hurricane risk reduction system."
That has included billions of dollars in levees, flood walls, gates and other measures. All of that does reduce impacts, however, it does not eliminate the risk.
Edwards added that he didn't reference Katrina and Rita to scare anybody, but to make sure people take Laura seriously and get prepared.
The governor also announced that President Donald Trump today signed the federal disaster declaration for Louisiana.