Still devastated from Hurricane Laura, coastal Louisiana hit again by Delta

By Lena Tillett, WRAL anchor/reporter

Lake Charles, La. — Coastal Louisiana braced for its second major hurricane in less than two months on Friday.

Recently, Hurricane Laura devastated Lake Charles, bringing wind gusts up to 140 mph and deadly flooding. Now, Hurricane Delta has hit the same area, making landfall around 7 p.m. Friday with maximum sustained winds at 105 mph.

One Lake Charles resident remembers the impact of Laura all too well. He rode the storm out on the floor of his closet. While hunkering down in his home, part of his roof collapsed, siding was ripped off and huge trees fell in his yard.

Now, with another hurricane approaching, all that remains of Lamarc Washington’s home is a shell.

This time, he won’t be riding out the hurricane from inside his home. He’s already evacuated to Lafayette, La., and plans to go farther inland to Shreveport, La.

During the past six weeks, Washington and his neighbors have been working to repair their homes and clean up their battered community.

But with Hurricane Delta approaching, following a very similar track as Hurricane Laura, Washington said he’s worried all the work they’ve done will be for nothing.

“A lot of people have roofs blown off, and they put blue tarp on it. With this coming, now you’re going to have blue tarps all over the place and trash that residents were trying to pick up that’s going to be in the road now,” said Washington.

Not to mention, he said, all the trees that will likely fall.

Despite the risk, many people in Lake Charles still plan to ride out this storm, even with Laura’s damage.

Washington said hunkering down is just part of the culture on the Gulf Coast – but he, for one, has learned his lesson.