Despite encouragement from local government officials urging people to leave before the arrival of Hurricane Laura Thursday, many people around Jeff Davis Parish (JDP) decided to ride out the storm by staying in the area. What they witnessed were winds gusting over 100 miles-per-hour at times, heavy rains and widespread power outages as Laura made her pummeling landfall. Laura, which came onshore between Holly Beach and Cameron as a Category Four storm, is one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the Louisiana coast. A few residents from JDP that stuck around for Laura’s wrath discussed what they witnessed, and the feelings of being locked inside a major hurricane.