US President approves emergency aid for Louisiana
Aug 24, 2020
Washington D.C. [US], August 24 : US President Donald Trump has approved federal aid for Louisiana which is threatened by two storms simultaneously, White House said on Sunday (local time).
"Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storms Laura and Marco beginning on August 22, 2020, and continuing," White House said in a statement.
According to a Sputnik report, during a White House briefing, Trump said both storms have potential to cause substantial damage.
"This is somewhat unprecedented, the scope of the storms and also the fact that they come so quickly after one another, both storms have the potential of gathering strength before they make landfall and could cause significant damage," Trump was quoted as saying.
According to Sputnik report, Tropical Storm Marco was declared a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday and is expected to make landfall on Monday. Storm Laura is expected to hit Louisiana 48 hours after Marco, the report said.
Governor of the U.S. state of Texas Greg Abbott on Sunday issued a state disaster declaration for 23 counties as Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura are forecast to impact the state in the coming days, according to a Xinhua report.