The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Laura is a Category 4 and forecast to get even stronger before landfall.
That would mean a 20 foot storm surge near the Texas-Louisiana line.
The National Weather Service says, "Unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage."
The Hurricane Center says that kind of impact will devastate the area where the eyewall hits.
"Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months... Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls."
Leaders in Terrebonne, Lafourche and Jefferson Parishes say forecasts of up to seven feet of storm surge there are manageable. The surge in Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Orleans and St. Tammany are expected to be two to four feet outside the levee protection.
