Houston, Anderson Counties Dodge a Bullet
Hurricane Laura Veers Right
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – The warnings being issued by the National Weather Service, DETCOG and local media were dire. Traffic flow through the Houston and Anderson County areas picked up as people fled the coastlines of Texas and Louisiana.
Gas stations were swamped and finding a place to stay was next to impossible. Hotels in Crockett, Palestine, Corsicana and Athens were completely sold out.
As of 4 pm on Wednesday, Aug. 26, it appeared as if Houston County, as well as Anderson County, stood in the path of Hurricane Laura. Schools were closed in an abundance of caution
When it started to rain in the early evening hours of Wednesday, memories of 2008’s Hurricane Ike and 2017’s Hurricane Harvey returned to the conversation. The hurricane was expected to make landfall shortly after midnight. People fully expected to awaken to see roof damage, trees down and debris scattered everywhere.
Instead, the weather was calm. It was bright and sunny. Houston and Anderson Counties dodged a bullet.
When Laura churned ashore at approximately 1 am near Cameron, La., she veered to the right and went up the Texas/Louisiana border leaving a trail of death and destruction in her wake.
So far, only 10 deaths have been attributed to the storm, in part, because of the evacuations and the path of the hurricane which led it through mostly rural, mostly unpopulated areas.
While it is still early in the recovery process, Moody’s Analytics projects “… the storm is estimated to have caused anywhere from $4 billion to $12 billion in damages to Louisiana and Texas.”
Even though Hurricane Laura showed a staggering amount of ferocity, the damage total is nowhere near the totals caused by Hurricane Katrina – at nearly $160 billion, and Hurricane Harvey at $125 billion.
Please keep the people who have been displaced by the hurricane in your thoughts and prayers. If you have the financial means, please donate to the disaster relief charity of your choice. Beware of scams, however, and use websites like Charity Navigator or Guidestar to help make an informed decision before you make a donation.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
