A thread about what I’m hearing from ppl in Lake Charles ahead of Hurricane Laura. Many people I spoke to this AM talked about faith & trust. “I trust God; I believe he’s going I take care of his people; but he also gave us wisdom,” Symentha Celestine told me before evacuating

2/ Others talked about their faith as justification for staying. “Let’s say I’m not worried about it,” said Craig Winn, who’s staying, about worst-case scenario. “I have faith in Jesus Christ. If today is my last, I’ll be OK” #lawx #HurricaneLaura

3/ Another man I spoke to at his home in Lake Charles described his decision to stay this way: his house was fine during Rita, he has a generator ready to go, he has faith in God & in his local government officials. In his eyes, staying for the storm is like risking a car wreck.

4/ But another guy I spoke to at a gas station near McNeese said he’s leaving because he doesn’t trust his brand-new house enough to hold up during the storm. Had he built it himself, he said he’d trust it. But that’s not the case. “This one’s got me a little worried”

5/ Lake Charles mayor warned today that not enough people seem to be evacuating for Hurricane Laura. We saw the tail end of an operation that’s evacuated around 900. A guy there told me that he made the last-minute decision to leave today after Laura upgraded to category 4

6/ Really hoping that everyone stays safe during this storm! Rain was already pounding down on Lake Charles when I headed out a little while ago. Felt like that was my cue. There’s still time (but not much of it) if you’re making a last-minute call on whether to evacuate