COVINGTON, La. — Many evacuees from Lake Charles and other parts of southwest Louisiana are staying in the New Orleans area until Laura passes.
"Get out, get out. There's no reason to stay," said John Guillory of Lake Charles.
Guillory packed up what little he could and drove his family away from Hurricane Laura's threatening path.
"Shoot, we're trying to get out of harm's way. I mean, I got the kids so Category 1, Category 2 we weren't worried about. When it hit a 3, we decided to get out," Guillory said.
They evacuated their Lake Charles home to stay at a hotel in Covington.
"We're ready for the long haul. Hopefully, it's not long so we can get back to normal life, but however it goes, we're ready for it," he said.
Guillory is thinking of friends and family who didn't leave.
"A lot of people, they didn't want to leave. They're stubborn, they got ties to things, so praying for them, hoping they okay through this storm," he said.
He's also thinking of his new home in Lake Charles.
'"We just bought a home. We ain't been in our home two weeks, so hoping it don't mess up our home. We work hard for that, but at the end of the day our life more important," Guillory said.
Laura's path and intensity brings back flashbacks of Hurricane Rita in 2005.
"It was frightening, you had to evacuate," he recalls being displaced for three months. "Telephone polls, trees fell on the house, electricity was out for months."
He's worries of the same threat.
"We'll see when we get back, whenever that may be," Guillory said.
So for now he waits, watches closely, and prays.
"I just pray. I believe in a higher power. We prayed and I'm going to leave it at that," Guillory said.
He'll stay in Covington, holding his family tight as they wait out the storm.
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