IBERIA PARISH, Louisiana — With Laura expected to make landfall near the Louisiana and Texas border, residents are getting ready for a storm that's expected to do something not all do - push water miles inland.
Impact at Iberia Parish, Louisiana could start seeing those impacts as early as tomorrow.
Along the Cajun Coast, residents are trying to do anything they can to protect themselves and their property before Laura's landfall.
This is an area that is very susceptible to flooding.
Most people here learn to live with the water with rivers and bayous throughout the area and with the Gulf of Mexico nearby.
But what Laura is expected to bring is so much more than what they are used to here- potentially with winds of a Category 3 hurricane and storm surge of 10 feet.
People who live here say they're taking advantage of sand bagging stations set up throughout the area. They are telling us they've been through storms like these before and plan to ride it out.
“I just wanted to do this as a precautionary measure,” Louisiana resident Joe Soudelier said. “Just to prevent the water from coming in the house through the doors."
And Shannon Zeringue worries about after the storm.
“I’m more worried about being without power in anything else,” Zeringue said. “I live in a trailer. It's been there for like 30 years - kind of sunk in the ground. So, I think I'll be okay."
There are some emergency shelters open - but folks have told us they would hesitate to go to one because of the coronavirus.
This is an area where people live with and make a living off the water.
Now, it's potentially a threat.
Already, a number of shrimp boats here have returned to their docks ahead of Laura.
It was 3 years ago today that Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport.
Sixty-eight people in Texas died from Harvey and the damage it caused is estimated at $125 billion.
The Category 4 hurricane destroyed more than 200,000 homes and businesses. And even though it’s been 3 years since Harvey made landfall, rebuilding continues to this day in some parts of the Coastal Bend.
