As Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana overnight, the winds appeared to push a riverboat casino in to the pillars supporting the Interstate 10 bridge.
Louisiana State Police Maj. Doug Cain said they received a report that the Isle of Capri’s riverboat casino broke from its mooring and was stuck against the Interstate 10 bridge in Lake Charles.
Early reports emerging in the wake of Hurricane Laura show less damage than what was feared.
DOTD officials said on Thursday afternoon that the riverboat had been removed, but the bridge remains closed. Crews will inspect the bridge's potential damage with drones once it is safe from the chlorine gas fires.
Video by Chris Granger
The bridge will remain closed until the inspection and any possible repairs are done.
"An unsafe bridge in louisiana is a closed bridge and we can't stress enough the importance of staying off the bridge," DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson said.
The eye passed directly over Lake Charles, where drone video shows roofs ripped off, exposing living rooms to the elements; trees downed and water overflowing the banks of coastal properties.
But FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor says the damage seems to be less than what they feared with Laura hitting the coast as a potentially catastrophic Category 4 hurricane early Thursday.
In addition to ferocious winds nearing Category 5 strength, Hurricane Laura was expected to deliver an "unsurvivable" two-story-high wall of s…
The Isle of Capri's riverboat was the first Louisiana riverboat to gain approval to move to dry land. The company won approval in December of 2019, which was 18 months after the Louisiana Legislature allowed the possibility.
The parent company planned to build a new $112.7 million casino between the parking lot and hotel at the Isle of Capri riverboat casino in Westlake, just off I-10 west in the City of Lake Charles.
The Isle of Capri's riverboat is named Grand Palais and was purchased in July of 1996. It has more than 1,175 slot machines and 34 table games.
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