Hurricane Laura hits Gulf Coast with 150 mph winds

LAFAYETTE, La. (NBC) – Hurricane Laura is now a Category 1 storm, now weakening and moving into Arkansas after pounding Texas and Louisiana overnight where the worst is over.

Now, people are out assessing the damage after what was, for some, a terrifying night.

Laura slammed ashore in the early hours of Thursday, lashing the Louisiana and Texas coasts with torrential rain and a storm surge the National Hurricane Center called “unsurvivable” along with 150 mile-per-hour winds.

It was a powerful Category 4 hurricane where at least one person has been killed.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said, “The good news is the storm surge appears to be half of what was forecast and it still very significant.”

With daylight, officials are out and getting a true sense of the damage. Some are afraid of what they might find.

Early on, it was clear many things wouldn’t be the same after Laura, as before. More than a half-million people were under mandatory evacuation orders in Texas and Louisiana. Most paid attention but others decided to ride it out.

In Louisiana, the National Guard is out assessing the damage and checking for people who need to be rescued.

About a half-million people in the region are without power, most are in Louisiana. Power companies said crews from 20 states are in the area and are going out to get things back up and running.