Arkansas’ governor declares state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Laura

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has declared an emergency ahead of Hurricane Laura and set aside $250,000 to prepare for the storm’s impact.

Hutchinson said Wednesday that the state will have search and rescue teams on standby. Arkansas is hundreds of miles inland, but even as Laura moves away from the Gulf of Mexico, it is expected to hit the southwest part of the state with tropical storm-force winds. The storm could also drop up to eight inches of rain near Arkansas’ borders with Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.Forecasters also said heavy rainfall could arrive by Friday in parts of Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Laura is so powerful that it’s expected to become a tropical storm again once it reaches the Atlantic Ocean, potentially threatening the Northeast.