[imagesource: here]

Hurricane Laura is pummelling the US Gulf Coast, leaving an apocalyptic wasteland in its wake.

The storm was initally classified as a category four, striking the coast with winds of up to 240km/h and flash flooding, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power.

Almost half a million residents were told to evacuate parts of Texas and Louisiana where the storm was scheduled to hit, while forecasters flagged an “unsurvivable storm surge” (the rising of the sea).

BBC with more:

Hurricane Laura made landfall shortly after midnight local time (05:00 GMT) near the district of Cameron, in Louisiana. By 04:00, it had been downgraded to a category three storm…

It has since been downgraded further to a category two storm.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) earlier warned any residents remaining in or near the path of the “catastrophic” storm to “take action now to protect your life… in a reinforced interior room away from windows”.

“Get under a table or other piece of sturdy furniture,” the NHC said, adding: “Use mattresses, blankets or pillows to cover your head and body.”

The International Space Station captured footage of the hurricane from above, giving you an idea of the scale of the thing:

Image: NASA/Chris Cassidy

You could see tough times coming in the days before it made landfall:

Please be safe y’all…. #HurricaneLaura pic.twitter.com/k1A1400x5f

— ✨| Certified Personal Trainer (@biancasolo) August 26, 2020

And this:

Wow. Just wow. #HurricaneLaura #GulfofMexico #Louisiana #Texas pic.twitter.com/Q3hTEj7z3R

— Vincent (@goonervince) August 27, 2020

Despite those aforementioned warnings, people still ventured outdoors to take videos, including weather people who really should know better.

The long-suffering weather person, who stands outside in the storm for no reason:

Weather Channel always gotta f*ck around & find out. #HurricaneLaura pic.twitter.com/uhQJ4byfyB

— Blondie (@blondierock13) August 27, 2020

“It really hurts, okay?”

Shem – now, go back inside.

You can tell that while this poor bastard braves the elements in his bike helmet,  Stuart/Stewart the cameraman is filming from inside the building:

On to more of the carnage:

Moments ago in Lake Charles, LA … #HurricaneLaura pic.twitter.com/ft7Db6C2l3

— Brennan Prill ⚡︎ (@WxBrenn) August 27, 2020

The Telegraph curated a couple of videos recording the scale of the devastation as the hurricane takes out everything in its path:

A skyscraper during the storm:

EYE WALL of powerful #HurricaneLaura in Lake Charles, LA with the Dominator Fore and HERV taking some debris. Sadly there is a lot of damage, likely catastrophic to the south. We are waiting for sunrise to drive to Holly Beach and retrieve windy palms @MikeTheiss pic.twitter.com/WwNUjwfruu

— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) August 27, 2020

Here’s the Capitol One Tower gutted the morning after:

– First light is revealing the incredible damage #HurricaneLaura did here in #LakeCharles #Louisiana over night… #Laura #CapitolOneTower pic.twitter.com/WSlP0MIZ0K

— WeatherGoingWILD (@WeatherGoinWILD) August 27, 2020

As the storm moves on to other parts of the region, this is what it leaves behind:

Image: @ChiefKeith/ Twitter

Image: @ChiefKeith/ Twitter

Image: @ChiefKeith/ Twitter

The storm is expected to weaken further as it moves inland.

Highly dangerous storm surges have continued along much of the Louisiana coastline.

[source:bbc]