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Forecasters from the National Hurricane Center are warning of ‘unsurvivable storm surge’ and ‘catastrophic damage’ from Hurricane Laura.

Now a major Category 4 storm, Laura is set to hit near the Texas-Louisiana border on Thursday morning as local officials scramble to evacuate thousands of residents.

The storm’s rapid intensification has shocked scientists and weather forecaster along the Louisiana-Texas border.

“Unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage from Sea Rim State Park, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, including Calcasieu and Sabine Lakes,” the National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday. “This surge could penetrate up to 30 miles inland from the immediate coastline.”

Unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves will cause catastrophic damage from Sea Rim State Park, Texas, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, including Calcasieu and Sabine Lakes. This surge could penetrate up to 30 miles inland from the immediate coastline. #Laura pic.twitter.com/bV4jzT3Chd

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2020

Laura could bring storm surge of nearly 13 feet to the coastline as well as flash flooding and tornadoes on land.

“I’m running out of words. Hurricane Laura is now one of the fastest-intensifying storms in recorded history in the Gulf of Mexico,” climate scientist Eric Holthaus wrote in a tweet. “Laura now poses a catastrophic, potentially historic threat to coastal Louisiana.”