The population density of the Texas-Louisiana coastal region where Hurricane Laura is set to make landfall as a Category 4 storm has increased significantly over the past 40 years.
Why it matters: The damage a storm can do is a function not just of its sheer strength, but the number of people in its path. As more people live in coastal regions, we will get an increasingly "expanded bull's-eye" of hurricane risks.
Evacuation orders were issued Tuesday for over 385,000 people in the Texas cities of Port Arthur, Galveston and Beaumont and for 200,000 others in another 200,000 in Calcasieu Parish, southwest Louisiana, ahead of Hurricane Laura's expected arrival this week, per AP.
Why it matters: It's the largest evacuation to take place in the U.S. during the pandemic and comes as the U.S. marks the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Laura was strengthening over the central Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday night and was expected to make landfall in the U.S. as a Category 3 storm.
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