Residents of Gulf Coast US states Texas and Louisiana evacuated flood zones and boarded up windows on Tuesday as Hurricane Laura barrelled towards the coastline, after earlier causing 25 deaths in the Caribbean.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were nearing 150km/h, with gusts higher, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported, and forecasters expect it to strengthen significantly in the next 24 hours.

The centre said: “Laura is expected to be a major hurricane at landfall.”

It is forecast to reach the Texas or Louisiana coast on Wednesday night. Storm surges could reach up to 4m in places and will be accompanied by “large and destructive waves”, it said.

The centre warned that the storm surges could reach up to 48km inland from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas coastlines.

Texas governor Greg Abbott said Laura could reach Category 4 status, the second-highest, with winds of up to 251km/h.

“We need to be prepared,” he said, especially as the state continues to struggle with the coronavirus pandemic.

He warned that high winds were expected to blow through the state’s most forested area and there was potential for tornadoes.

Compared to Category 3 Hurricane Harvey, which caused catastrophic flooding and killed 68 people in 2017, “this is going to be more of a wind event”, the governor said.

Laura also threatens the major oil refining centres of Lake Charles, Louisiana and Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas, located near the coast.

Evacuations have been underway since the morning in areas most at risk, especially on the coast where the water could rise to three metres.

Several emergency shelters opened on Tuesday in Texas, with health precautions in place to fight the spread of the virus.

“Covid-19 is going to be in Texas throughout the hurricane,” Abbott said, calling on families who can afford it to take refuge in hotels or motels so they “can be isolated from others”.

In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell also called for health measures to be respected despite the threat of wind, rain and flooding.

She tweeted: “Don’t forget covid19 with weather effects from Hurricane #Laura on the way.”

The city’s historic French Quarter was emptied of its tourists, while sandbags were piled up in front of the doorways of colonial-style buildings and windows were boarded up with plywood.

Robert Dunlap, a business owner said: “I’m not worried about the water getting in here from the storm, I’m worried about the rain and then the pumps not working and that’s what will cause the flooding.”