BATON ROUGE - A number of South Louisiana citizens, most donning masks and attempting to practice social distancing guidelines while preparing for Hurricane Laura, would likely agree that there may be some truth to the old idiom, "when it rains it pours." 

Even as COVID-19, a global pandemic that's proved deadly to more than 800,000 individuals, continues to hold Louisiana in its grip, the gulf coast state now finds itself in the path of Hurricane Laura, a destructive, Category 3 hurricane that's expected to make landfall in Louisiana around 1 a.m., Thursday.

Power companies are preparing for Laura’s rainfall. Trucks are stationed right off the interstate here in the capital city . https://t.co/MEyUPzL9QR

— Rae'ven Nicole Jackson (@RaevenJack) August 25, 2020

Governor John Bel Edwards has been urging residents to take extra precautions by preparing for possible flooding, power outages, and wind damage. Some parts of the state have evacuated and in the process, officials are reminding them to practice social distancing and wear masks.

The Governor also warned that following the hurricane, recovery efforts will be even more challenging than usual due to the pandemic, saying, "Our recovery is going to look like it does for other storms. It will be a little more difficult because of the COVID environment. But all of the essentials will stay the same. You should know that we've already had discussions leaning forward on recovery. We've already started looking at the recovery, started coordinating all of that with local officials. But also with FEMA." 

Governor Edwards is expected to address the public regarding Hurricane Laura and the pandemic Wednesday (August 26) morning at 11:30 a.m. 

WBRZ will broadcast his address live on Channel 2 and WBRZ + in addition to featuring it online in an article similar to this one.