The storm prompted the closing of all ports in the British Virgin Islands. Dominican Republic A tropical storm warning was issued covering the coast from Punta Palenque to the northern Haitian border. A red alert was also issued for 18 provinces, a yellow alert for 8, and a green alert for 6. Haiti Haitian authorities urged people to evacuate to shelters, and to remember to wear masks and respect social distancing orders in the areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jamaica and Cayman Islands Although the center of Laura was forecast to remain north of Jamaica, associated rainbands on the southern side of the circulation were anticipated to bring significant precipitation. On August 23, the Jamaican Meteorological Service issued a flash flood watch for low-lying areas nationwide. This was later upgraded to a flash flood warning on August 24 as torrential rains affected the nation. Originally, the bulk of the storm was forecasted to stay north of the Cayman Islands, but as the forecast kept on shifting further southwest of earlier forecast, the projections of significant precipitation and for Tropical Storm conditions continued to increase. The Cayman Islands Government issued Tropical Storm Warning for their Islands on August 23. This was in addition to the Severe Weather Statements and Flood Warnings that were already posted. Cuba Ahead of Laura's first landfall in Cuba on August 23, tropical storm watches and warnings were issued throughout the nation. At one point, the western tip of Cuba was under both a tropical storm watch from Laura and a tropical storm warning from Hurricane Marco at the same time. Officials evacuated 106,000 people in Santiago de Cuba Province, 81,300 in Holguín Province, and 12,000 in Guantánamo Province. Power was preemptively cut across Guantánamo Province as a precautionary measure. On August 24, a further 45,000 people in Villa Clara Province, 16,466 people in Matanzas Province, and 300 in Ciego de Ávila Province were evacuated. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic complicated evacuation efforts, resulting in typical evacuation shelters such as schools not being opened. Those suspected of being infected were relocated to quarantine centers. Residents nationwide were alerted to the potential of widespread flooding as many reservoirs were at or near capacity. United States Hurricanes Marco and Laura threatened a large swath of oil rigs positioned across the Gulf of Mexico. By August 23, approximately 58 percent of oil production and 45 percent of natural gas production