FEMA administrator on federal response to back-to-back storms threatening Louisiana and Texas
Tropical storm Marco, Hurricane Laura set to deliver one-two punch to Gulf states; Pete Gaynor, FEMA administrator, joins Neil Cavuto with insight on 'Your World.'
FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor told "Your World" Monday that he can't recall a situation like the one facing the Gulf Coast, which is set to be hit in quick succession by a pair of named storms.
"We have never had this circumstance before in recent history, not in my memory," Gaynor told host Neil Cavuto. "So we are taking all of the precautions that we normally take in any hurricane season [but] this hurricane season is a little special, because we have to think about COVID in everything we do."
Tropical Storm Marco was forecast to become a tropical depression later Monday yet it still brings the risk of heavy rain, storm surge, strong winds and tornadoes as the system moves inland. The storm is projected to move inland over southern Louisiana Monday night and across southern Louisiana on Tuesday.
TROPICAL STORMS LAURA, MARCO PUT US COASTLINES ON ALERT
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Laura is forecast to move into the Gulf of Mexico Monday night. A hurricane watch was in effect for the coastline between Port Bolivar, Texas and west of Morgan City, La. as of 5 p.m. ET Monday. A storm surge watch was also put into effect for the area between from San Luis Pass, Texas and Ocean Springs, Miss.
"We are still uncertain about exactly where and when Laura may make landfall," Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean said Monday, "but right now it appears the Louisiana and Texas coast – just like with Marco -- will need to be on alert.
"We have a little bit of time built in for Laura," Gaynor told Cavuto. "I want to be clear ... Laura will not be the same storm as Marco. We want to make that perfectly clear."
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"With Marco, there is some rain, some surge, but it will quickly weaken," said Gaynor, a former Marine who headed Rhode Island's emergency management agency before joining FEMA in October 2018.
"Then, you will have Laura, which will come across potentially as a category two or category three, so you will have excessive rain surge, winds, and all of the things that Marco did not have. I mentioned today, if you are down in those states that will be impacted by either of these storms, take the time now to prepare yourself and your family for the worst case."
Fox News' Janice Dean contributed to this report.
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