Hurricane Laura killed a 14-year-old girl when a tree fell on her home as 150mph winds devastate Louisiana and Texas leaving 500,000 without power — and those who didn’t evacuate are told ‘write down your name and keep it in a ziplock bag in your pocket.’

The Category 4 monster made landfall at 1am with the strongest winds that Louisiana has seen since 1856 and warnings that the storm could rip apart buildings and penetrate up to 200 miles inland.

The storm’s first victim, a 14 year old girl, died when a tree fell on her home, according to the governor’s office. The office said they do expect more fatalities as the hurricane continues to pass through the state.

Laura reached land near the small town of Cameron around 30 miles from the Texas border, where officials went door-to-door pleading with people to flee the path of the storm amid fears the entire parish will be inundated.

In a statement, the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana warned on Wednesday that anyone choosing not to evacuate ‘must understand that rescue efforts cannot and will not begin until after storm and surge has passed and it is safe to do so’.

‘Please evacuate and if you choose to stay and we can’t get to you, write your name, address, social security number and next of kin and put it a ziplock bag in your pocket. Praying that it does not come to this!’ the sheriff’s office said.