Thousands Of Texans Evacuate As Hurricane Laura Approaches. How Are Coastal Communities Coping?

THURSDAY on “The Source” — Hurricane Laura is projected to hit the Texas and Louisiana coasts Wednesday night as a major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Along with tropical storm force winds and flash flooding, forecasters are projecting that some coastal areas could also see “unsurvivable” storm surge up to 30 miles inland.

Mandatory evacuation orders are underway in Galveston, Beaumont and Port Arthur. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, at least 2,100 people had arrived at San Antonio’s evacuation site.

What’s the latest on hurricane activity and damage? Were the state’s coastal cities equipped to handle the storm? Should Texas prepare for more devastation in this “extremely active” Atlantic hurricane season? 

What are Texas cities who are receiving hurricane evacuees doing to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission? How else are cities not directly affected by the hurricane helping those that are?

“The Source” is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call  833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org  or tweet @TPRSource.

*This interview will be available on Thursday, August 27.