Temporary tarp roofs after Laura 'have no chance' against Delta

As Delta bears down on the Louisianan coast, it steers toward part of the state that is still recovering from its last encounter with a major hurricane that struck less than two months prior.

Back in late August, Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron as not only the first hurricane on record to strike southwestern Louisiana, but also the strongest to hit the state in more than 150 years with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, just 7 mph shy of being a Category 5 storm. Along the coast, storm surge rose to an astonishing 17.2 feet in Rutherford Beach, Louisiana, the National Weather Service office in Lake Charles found.

"Laura took everything except just a little cement slab. Crumbled the fireplace, ain't nothing left. There's people in east Louisiana don't realize how bad we have it here," Grand Chenier Resident Chris Theriot told AccuWeather National Reporter Jonathan Petramala.

The storm's death toll in the U.S. totaled 26 people, many of whom died from carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.

Now, the latest forecast for Delta places communities in southwestern to south-central Louisiana, many of which haven't rebuilt after Laura, directly in the path of the hurricane. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued on Wednesday for Calcasieu Parish, Jeff Davis Parish and parts of Cameron Perish -- parishes that had been in the direct path of Hurricane Laura.

"It's unusual for two hurricanes to hit the same point on land within weeks of each other, but it's not unprecedented," AccuWeather Senior Weather Editor and Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said. "Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne both hit near Port St. Lucie, Florida, 19 days apart in 2004."

Hurricane Katrina, despite its destruction, made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane.

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The one-two punch from Laura and soon Delta has brought around problems from a radar hole after Laura took out the NWS Lake Charles radar to communities still not having fully rebuilt.

Homes across southwestern Louisiana still bear blue tarps over damaged roofs after Laura, prompting residents who stayed during the Category 4 hurricane to pack up and evacuate from structurally compromised homes.

"It's really not worth it," Shane Connor told Petramala.

Connor was one of the few who stayed for Laura, hunkering down in Grand Lake, which sits between Cameron and Lake Charles. He decided not to stick around for Delta after his home was damaged from the last hurricane.

"Oh, it's definitely going to weaken up because I have cracks in my bricks, cracks in my slab. The top structure stayed, but the bottom structure had to take a lot to hold it in place," Connor said.

More than a week into October, Petramala described neighborhoods in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as looking like a war zone. Around 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, "neighborhoods have been transformed into a sea of blue tarps. It's hard to find homes not damaged by Hurricane Laura," Petramala said.

On Thursday, cars packed Interstate 10 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as residents began evacuating ahead of Hurricane Delta. Adjacent to the highway, drone footage shows a multitude of homes still bearing blue tarp -- an effort most likely done in vain to keep out rain ahead of a Category 3 hurricane.

"The tarps have no chance in this storm, especially closer to the coast," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert said. "Winds of over hurricane force will easily take the tarps, even if they are attached well."

Reppert adds that even if the hurricane should track closer to south-central Louisiana, Delta would still bring strong enough winds to the southeastern parts of the state to render the tarp ineffective.

According to The Associated Press, Delta did rip a number of tarps off roofs as it moved inland Friday night into Saturday morning.

“I’m in a building right now with a tarp on it and just the sound of the tarp flapping on the building sounds like someone pounding with a sledgehammer on top of the building,“ Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said to the AP. ”It’s pretty intense.”

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Connor and his neighbor Casey Bridges are among those trying to protect their homes with the tarp. For Bridges, Laura was his third hurricane and his third time losing a home to a hurricane. He had just finished renovating his home less than a year ago. When Laura hit, the strength of the storm pushed the house over five feet.

"We was told it was totaled, but I'm not giving up. We're going to fix it back," Bridges told Petramala.

Lake Charles resident Ute Miller was in the process of boarding up her home when she took a break to speak with Petramala.

"I'm worried about the debris, the trash that has not yet been picked up yet to fly and hit a window or something," Miller told Petramala. "The trees are gone, I'm not worried about that. But I'm worried about all the trash.

Delta is forecast to weaken slightly as it treks toward Louisiana, but it may still strike as a major hurricane. Hurricane-force winds can extend 30 miles outward from where Delta makes landfall, causing damage to property across a large area.

Communities from Lake Charles to Lafayette, Louisiana, may see extensive property damage and power outages from the combination of high winds, torrential rain and flooding.

"We can always replace things like that, but we can't replace lives," Connor said.

Reporting by Jonathan Petramala.

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