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storm. forecasters are warning of unsurvivable storm surge, as high as 20 feet or more. we re getting some of our first pictures tracking the storm, tracking the surge. we re trying to connect to as many people as we can to get the best picture of the devastation as the sun and the light comes up. nearly 400,000 customers are without power in texas and louisiana. interstate 10 is closed in some parts of louisiana because of flooding concerns. it was 15 years ago this week that hurricane katrina devastated louisiana, killing more than 1,800 people. and the storm that is hitting right now is more powerful than that. you may remember that 40% of people who died there in katrina drowned in the floodwaters. so we have reporters along the gulf coast covering this monster storm for you all morning. and we begin with marty savidge, live in lake charles, louisiana, where the eye just went through. tell us the experience there, martin. reporter: good morning, alisyn, there wa ....
right now, millions of people are dealing with extreme rainfall, up to three inches an hour, and destructive winds, not to mention tornado watches. i m hallie jackson in washington, along with our nbc news reporter eers on the grou. catie beck in lake sharcharles, sam brock in orange, texas. indicate i-in lake charles we re seeing some of the worst damage this morning. reporter: good morning, hallie. we are actually getting a firsthand look at what laura left behind here. as you can see, these are pieces of roof and siding, plaster walls, plywood. this all came from the casino behind me last night, as laura made her way through. 134-mile-an-hour winds were what we were facing right here overnight, and you can see the damage. it s extensive. at first, it seemed like the winds were going to be a little bit sparing, and then as the back side of this storm came through, all of these pieces of debris started flying around. it was literally so dangerous that my crew and i h ....