Laura upgraded to Hurricane Status; Landfall expected Thursday early a.m. as Category 3

As of this morning, Laura has strengthened into a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to grow even stronger as it heads toward Texas and Louisiana.

Please tune into your local government officials for announcements that could affect your operations. Hurricane Laura currently has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to data from a NOAA hurricane hunter plane, and is likely to become a major Category 3 storm or higher over the next day or so. The center of the storm is located 625 miles from Lake Charles, Louisiana, and it's moving at a rapid clip of 17 mph.

Here is a list of best practices and resources to help you prepare and navigate through the coming days:

• Update your communication contact list- ensure you have the most up-to-date phone numbers and email addresses for your staff.
• Update your business social media indicating your closure. Once the storm passes, update your social media to share news and opening information.
• Secure your facility - board glass windows or doors and sandbag outside doors. For a list of sandbag locations click on the chapter area - Southwest, Acadiana and Bayou.
• Parish Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Prep Contacts: Find yours here.
• For shelter information, click here.
• For press releases, proclamations, contact information and road closures, etc., click here.

Please tune into your local news and weather station for the latest information on Hurricane Laura's track and forecast. We urge you to adhere to local government orders and remind you not to drive or walk through standing water as the depth of flood waters and electrical currents may be unclear.

If there is anything that we at the LRA can do to assist during this time, please email communications@lra.org. The Communications Team is standing by.