This archive report was first published on 26 August 2020.
Published on August 26, 2020, a Category 4 hurricane, Laura, brought devastation to Cuba and Texas, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The storm's impact was felt in both countries, with thousands of people evacuated and crops damaged.
According to reports, the island's Civil Defense Force oversaw the evacuation of 334,000 people, with many taking refuge with relatives. Although clustering may cause a spike in coronavirus infection rates, authorities prioritized protecting people in coastal areas from the storm.
As the storm tore through banana and coffee plantations in the eastern part of the island, it damaged crops in the province of Artemisa, a major source of root vegetables for the capital. The food supplies in Cuba have been dicey in recent months, with sanctions imposed by the Trump administration blocking gasoline deliveries from Venezuela, leading to a decrease in domestic food production.
Comparisons to Hurricane Rita ¶
When Hurricane Laura comes ashore, Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana predicted that it could be similar in intensity to Hurricane Rita, which struck the Gulf Coast on a similar track about a month after Hurricane Katrina pounded New Orleans in 2005.
Rita made landfall on September 24, 2005, as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 miles an hour. It spawned an estimated 90 tornadoes as it pummeled Louisiana, Mississippi, and eastern Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm dumped as much as 15 inches of rain in some areas, and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.
