ARLINGTON, Va. – Hundreds of members of the Louisiana National Guard were assisting first responders in the response to Hurricane Laura Thursday.
As the sun rose over Southwest Louisiana, members of the Louisiana Guard deployed to clear roadways in Lake Charles and begin to assess the damage from Hurricane Laura, which made landfall early Thursday in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane.
The LANG had strategically positioned 222 high water vehicles and 65 boats from southeastern Louisiana to southwestern Louisiana to provide search and rescue support. It also had 19 Army aircraft prepared to assist.
In addition, 10 Guard engineer assessment teams and seven engineer work teams were staged and ready to respond. In advance of the hurricane's arrival, Guard members of the 843rd Engineer Company had helped local and state agencies to reinforce the exposed burrito levee in Grand Isle.
And the LANG had 921,000 liters of water and 528,000 military rations, or meals ready to eat, strategically placed to support Louisianans.
Texas was spared the worst of the storm. The Texas National Guard had more than 1,000 members standing by Wednesday for hurricane response, with over 20 aviation assets at the ready. Over 15 shelter teams with emergency tracking capabilities had moved to receive those in need and the Texas Guard had mobilized 117 high profile vehicles to support rescue efforts in high-risk areas if needed. C-130 crews moved supplies to areas of Southeast Texas in anticipation of the hurricane.
The Louisiana and Texas National Guard contributed to this story.