Hurricane Laura pounded the Gulf Coast for hours with ferocious wind, torrential rains and rising seawater as it roared ashore over southwestern Louisiana near the Texas border in the United States on Thursday as a life-threatening storm.

Laura made landfall just before 1 am as a category 4 storm, packing winds of 150 mph (240 kph) in the small town of Cameron, Louisiana, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.

Videos on social media showed heavy winds and rain battering a tall building, blowing out windows and littering glass and debris into the air and onto the ground as the hurricane moved over southwestern Louisiana.

The damage was observed in Lake Charles, which is about 45 miles (72 kilometres) north of where the storm made the landfall.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) hurricane-chasing airplane gave people a rare glimpse of the conditions inside Laura as it passed through the hurricane. A time-lapse video of the journey was shared by Nick Underwood of the NOAA on Twitter.

Kermit (#NOAA42) flew through Hurricane #Laura FIVE times today. Here’s a time lapse of our second pass up through the beginning for our third.

A pass in and out of a hurricane is called a “penetration” or a “penny”. Five pennies today takes my career total to 61.#FlyNOAA pic.twitter.com/IqajXPbosQ

— Tropical Nick Underwood (@TheAstroNick) August 26, 2020

The NOAA has been tweeting about the hurricane’s movement and the stunning images its various bodies captured ahead of the landfall.

OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO – Aug. 25 In the eye of Hurricane #Laura w/ @NOAA WP-3D Orion #NOAA42 “Kermit” flight station radar showing the eyewall ahead. Credit: Lt. Cmdr. Doremus, NOAA Corps. Follow @NHC_Atlantic + your local @NWS Forecast Office for forecast + advisories. #FlyNOAA pic.twitter.com/p8y236yzlK

— NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (@NOAA_HurrHunter) August 26, 2020

Meanwhile, some of the videos on social media showed road signs bending, trees shaking violently and a large recreational vehicle being blown over as Hurricane Laura struck land.

More than 2,90,000 homes and businesses were without power in Texas and Louisiana, as near-constant lightning provided the only light for some. Officials say search and rescue missions will begin as soon as conditions allow, along with damage assessments.

Forecasters warned that the hurricane could push a massive wall of water 40 miles inland from the sea.