Hurricane Laura destroyed buildings and killed at least 15 people in the southern US, after becoming the strongest system to cross the Louisiana coastline in more than 150 years on Thursday.

Property analytics specialist CoreLogic estimates insured wind and storm surge losses for residential and commercial properties in Texas and Louisiana could total $US8-12 billion ($11-16 billion).

Laura made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, bringing 241kph winds, but the storm tracked away from more densely populated areas, limiting the extent of the losses earlier expected as it approached.

“There is never a good place for a hurricane to make landfall, but this was the best possible outcome because it spared the major population centres of Houston and New Orleans,” CoreLogic meteorologist Curtis McDonald said.

Insurance Information Institute non-resident scholar and Colorado State University atmospheric scientist Philip Klotzbach says Laura was the strongest system to hit Louisiana since the Last Island Hurricane of 1856.

“Lake Charles experienced severe wind damage but seems not to have seen the amount of storm surge that was feared,” Dr Klotzbach said.

Laura struck 15 years after Hurricane Katrina devasted New Orleans, while Texas and Louisiana were hard-hit three years ago by Hurricane Harvey.

Dr Klotzbach says the current US hurricane season looks to be picking up again after a lull, with the National Hurricane Centre monitoring four areas for possible tropical cyclone development.