Those who didn’t evacuate before Hurricane Laura should put their name in a plastic bag in a pocket, official says
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Louisiana officials are warning those who didn’t evacuate from mandatory zones before Hurricane Laura hit that rescue efforts won’t start until the surge has passed.
“Those choosing to stay and face this very dangerous storm must understand that rescue efforts cannot and will not begin until after storm and surge has passed and it is safe to do so,” the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Thursday.
“Please evacuate, and if you choose to stay and we can’t get to you, write your name, address, social security number and next of kin and put it a Ziploc bag in your pocket. Praying that it does not come to this.”
With winds 150 mph strong, Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm early Thursday morning. It has since weakened to a Category 3 storm, with winds at 120 mph.
The storm is tied with a hurricane from more than 160 years ago for the strongest storm to hit the state. The 1856 hurricane also had winds of 150 mph when it made landfall.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Derailed train cars lie on their side in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on August 29.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
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President Donald Trump tours the damage in Lake Charles on August 29.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
A building sits partially submerged in water in Hackberry, Louisiana, on August 28.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Rachel Ellis, left, and J'Nay Fitch salvage items from the AutoZone store where they work in Lake Charles on August 28.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
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A person stands in front of a damaged vehicle near Orange, Texas, on August 28.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Kirk Meche/American Press/AP
Pousson's Laundromat and Barbershop is left in ruins in Westlake, Louisiana.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
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This aerial photo shows a devastated neighborhood outside of Lake Charles on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Juan Lozano/AP
Maria Ramirez and her 17-year-old son, Jose Avila, survey the damage to their home in Orange, Texas, on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Mannequins are strewn on the floor at the Hair Saga store after Hurricane Laura passed through Lake Charles on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Dan Anderson/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A man walks through a debris-filled hallway on the second floor of a Lake Charles church that lost its roof on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Gerald Herbert/AP
People survey the damage to their Lake Charles neighborhood on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters
A McDonald's sign is damaged in Iowa, Louisiana, on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters
Ahmed Nawaz looks at the damage in his store in Lake Charles on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Smoke rises from a chemical fire at a Lake Charles plant on August 27. Plant managers were trying to contain a chlorine leak, according to state police. Details about what started the fire weren't immediately available.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Bryan Tarnowski/Bloomberg/Getty Images
A person holds a photo taken from a damaged home in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
William Widmer/The New York Times/Redux
Damage is seen at an office building lobby in Lake Charles on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle/AP
This aerial photo shows the roof blown off an AutoZone store in Lake Charles on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Eric Gay/AP
Benjamin Luna helps recover items from the children's wing of the First Pentecostal Church in Orange, Texas, on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Eric Gay/AP
Dozens of small fish are trapped inland after the hurricane ripped through Holly Beach, Louisiana.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Louisiana National Guard Pfc. Devin Lejeune helps search a Lake Charles apartment complex for people in need.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle/AP
Martin Almanza paddles a canoe through a flooded section of Galveston, Texas, on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The Capitol One Bank Tower is seen with its windows blown out in downtown Lake Charles.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Latasha Myles and Howard Anderson stand in their Lake Charles living room, which is where they were sitting when the roof blew off around 2:30 a.m. on August 27.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A tangle of power lines hangs over a street in Lake Charles.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Adrees Latif/Reuters
The driver of an overturned 18-wheeler exits his vehicle after police arrive to the scene along Interstate 10 in Vinton, Texas. Both the driver and a passenger suffered minor injuries.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
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A person walks past a destroyed building in Lake Charles.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Eric Thayer/Getty Images
Flooding is seen in Sabine Pass, Texas.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
A structure is flattened near a beach in Lake Charles.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The L'Auberge Casino Resort is seen after the lights went out in Lake Charles.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Eric Gay/AP
Shrimp boat Sea Lion V prepares for Hurricane Laura's landfall on August 26.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Chris Cassidy/NASA
This photo of Hurricane Laura was taken from aboard the International Space Station on August 26.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Gerald Herbert/AP
Victoria Nelson lines up her children, Autum, Shawn and Asia, as they board a bus to evacuate Lake Charles on August 26.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Gerald Herbert/AP
A sheriff's deputy wipes his face while manning a roadblock in Lake Charles on August 26.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Gerald Herbert/AP
Families line up to board buses to evacuate Lake Charles on August 26.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Bob Daemmrich/Cal Sport Media/Zuma Press
Children play at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack, where some evacuees were settling in Austin, Texas, on August 26.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Demeteri Bushnell is hugged by her great-niece as they and other evacuees prepare to board a bus in Lake Charles.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Dan Anderson/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Traffic is at a near-standstill on Interstate 10 as people evacuate the region near Jennings, Louisiana, on August 25.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle/AP
A US Postal Service employee covers a mailbox with plastic wrap in Galveston, Texas. The plastic wrap signals that the final mail has been cleared from the box, and it prevents people from placing mail inside that could be lost in a flood.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg/Getty Images
An evacuee waits to board a bus in Port Arthur, Texas, on August 25.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
David J. Phillip/AP
Nick Gaido, left, helps board up windows at his seafood restaurant in Galveston.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Roman Tatriot, with the help of family and friends, rounds up cattle in Cameron, Louisiana, so he can get them to higher ground.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle/AP
A family walks to a charter bus that would take them from Galveston Island to Austin.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle/AP
Katy Gay carries a dog as the Houston SPCA transferred more than 100 animals to the Austin Humane Society.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Callaghan O'Hare/Getty Images
People wait to board a bus to leave Galveston.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Bryan Tarnowski/Bloomberg/Getty Images
People make sandbags at St. Raymond Church in New Orleans.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
People tie down their vessels along Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain on August 23.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
People stand in long lines before entering a New Orleans Costco to pick up supplies.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Michael Kent moves his boat in Venice, Louisiana, on August 23.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Dan Anderson/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Crews bring sandbags to help with flooding prevention in Belle Chasse, Louisiana.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News/AP
Cesar Reyes, right, carries a sheet of plywood as he helps install window coverings at a business in Galveston.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Jon Shapley/The Houston Chronicle/AP
Houston firefighters prepare rescue equipment in advance of the storm.
Before Hurricane Laura struck, water levels were rising rapidly along the coast, and forecasters warned of an “unsurvivable” storm surge of up to 20 feet and devastating winds. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards predicted parts of his state will be submerged.
The expected tidal surge will probably keep authorities from making it into the parish, where roughly 150 residents chose not to evacuate, until Friday or Saturday, the Cameron Parish, Louisiana, Assistant Director of Emergency Preparedness, Ashley Buller, told CNN.
Free bus transportation was provided to Lake Charles, Louisiana, residents who wanted to take shelter out of town.
Mayor Nic Hunter told CNN’s Chris Cuomo late Wednesday night that authorities “did everything humanly possible to get the message to people,” but he said he is afraid not enough people evacuated.