A wobble, luck and preparations lessened Laura’s devastation

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Hurricane Laura was a monster storm that wreaked a lot of damage. But it could have been much worse. Experts say the expected 20 feet of storm surge missed Lake Charles and instead struck a less populated region. That was because the storm made a last-minute wobble to the east. The system also threaded a needle between the large cities of New Orleans and Houston. Storm-preparation experts say residents and emergency managers were smart in their preparations and eva