Latasha Myles and Howard Anderson stand in their living room where they were sitting when the roof blew off around 2:30 a.m. as Hurricane Laura passed through the area in Lake Charles, Louisiana. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 27: A room that had its roof blown off is seen in a hotel after Hurricane Laura passed through the area on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana . The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 27: James Sonya surveys what is left of his uncles barber shop after Hurricane Laura passed through the area on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana . The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Dustin Amos walks near debris at a gas station on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Lake Charles, La., after Hurricane Laura moved through the state. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 27: A street is seen strewn with debris and downed power lines after Hurricane Laura passed through the area on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana . The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)A truck and Interstate 10 sign is seen on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Lake Charles, La., after Hurricane Laura moved through the state. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 27: A street is seen strewn with debris and downed power lines after Hurricane Laura passed through the area on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana . The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 27: People stand next to a hotel that had parts of its roof blown off as Hurricane Laura passed through the area on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana . The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)A building that was damaged overnight by Hurricane Laura stands in Lake Charles, La., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. (Stephen Jones via AP)LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 27: Capitol One Bank Tower is seen with its windows blown out in the downtown area after Hurricane Laura passed through on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana . The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)A tattered American flag blows in the wind in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Port Arthur, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)A tree is uprooted in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Sabine Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Reginald Duhon prepares to work at his home on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Lake Charles, La., after Hurricane Laura moved through the state. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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Latasha Myles and Howard Anderson stand in their living room where they were sitting when the roof blew off around 2:30 a.m. as Hurricane Laura passed through the area in Lake Charles, Louisiana. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Hurricane Laura slammed ashore about 1 a.m. Thursday as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S. based on its wind speed of 150 mph. Powerful gusts blew out windows in tall buildings in Lake Charles, blew off roofs and took down trees and powerlines from the coast to more than 100 miles inland.
“It looks like 1,000 tornadoes went through here. It’s just destruction everywhere,`` said Brett Geymann, who rode out the storm with three family members in Moss Bluff, near Lake Charles. He described Laura passing over his house with the roar of a jet engine around 2 a.m.
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“There are houses that are totally gone. They were there yesterday, but now gone,” he said.
Police spotted a floating casino that came unmoored and hit a bridge. Drone video showed water surrounding homes with much of their roofs peeled away. Gov. John Bel Edwards reported Louisiana’s first fatality -- a 14-year-old girl who died when a tree fell on her home in Leesville, more than 100 miles inland.
Scroll through the photos above to see some of the first images of damage after the sun came up Thursday.
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