Video captured the moments the Capital One Tower in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was demolished on Saturday. The building was 22 stories tall and the largest skyscraper in the region but was largely empty following the impacts of Hurricane Laura in 2020.
LAKE CHARLES, La. – A 22-story skyscraper that stood over southwest Louisiana for four years after being damaged during Hurricane Laura finally came down Saturday with the help of controlled explosives.
The Capital One Tower in downtown Lake Charles had been largely vacant since sustaining severe damage from Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm.
For years, there was ongoing debate about the building’s future, but ultimately, the property owner chose to have it taken down versus embark on a costly repair project.
Less than 20 seconds after detonation, the once-towering structure was reduced to a tangled wreckage along the banks of Lake Charles.
TOP 5 COSTLIEST HURRICANES IN US HISTORY
Hurricane Laura Track
(FOX Weather)
“We cannot allow these buildings to sit untouched indefinitely,” Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter previously stated in a post-recovery address. “The problem will fester. Unaddressed, this issue will lower property values, increase blight, and affect our neighborhoods negatively all around. We must have a heart and open ear to those still facing challenges, but we must also have a heart and open ear to those neighbors who are living next door to these derelict structures.”
The skyscraper had been a landmark for drivers traveling along Interstate 10 since its opening in 1983.
Following the demolition and cleanup, there remains considerable uncertainty about what will be developed on the site.
Lake Charles and the surrounding parishes were among the hardest hit areas by Hurricane Laura, which caused damage estimated to exceed $23 billion.
NOAA reports more than 40 people were killed in the U.S. following the cyclone’s trek through the Gulf Coast and into the Mississippi Valley,
About six weeks after Laura, parts of the same region were impacted by Hurricane Delta, a Category 2 cyclone.
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LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA – AUGUST 27: Capital One Tower is seen with its windows blown out in the downtown area after Hurricane Laura passed through on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA – AUGUST 27: An escalator is seen in Capital One Tower that had its windows blown out in the downtown area after Hurricane Laura passed through on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana . The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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The Capital One Tower office building previously boarded up from Hurricane Laura, stands after Hurricane Delta made landfall in Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S., on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. Delta weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland over northeastern Louisiana, knocking out power lines and drenching an area still recovering from the onslaught of Hurricane Laura. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA – AUGUST 27: A person is seen walking through Capital One Tower with its windows blown out in the downtown area after Hurricane Laura passed through on August 27, 2020 in Lake Charles, Louisiana . The hurricane hit with powerful winds causing extensive damage to the city. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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The Gulf Coast was particularly hard hit during the record-breaking 2020 season.
Between April and December, 30 named storms formed, which included 14 hurricanes, and 7 major cyclones with winds of at least 115 mph.
At the time, damage for the 2020 hurricane season was estimated to be around $50 billion, ranking it among the top five costliest seasons in the U.S.
Since then, seasons in 2021 and 2022 have surpassed 2020 in terms of their financial impact, pushing the historic year down in the rankings.
Despite this, the 2020 season remains within the top 10 costliest hurricane seasons of all time.