South Louisiana officials feared an “unsurvivable” storm surge from Hurricane Laura, but found Thursday the potentially deadly wall of water appeared to be less than expected as the Category 4 storm came ashore.

Hurricane Laura was projected to bring up to a 20-foot storm surge in Cameron Parish, and flood waters were expected as far as 40 miles inland. Those estimates prompted the National Hurricane Center to issue an advisory earlier this week warning of “unsurvivable storm surge with large and destructive waves.”

However, where the storm made landfall in Cameron Parish, the surge crested at about 9 feet, according to initial reports. That storm surge level is considered life-threatening because large items such as cars begin to float and water levels reach the tops of one-story buildings. But it wasn’t the level projected.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday morning the state “caught a break” on storm surge.

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Read more: USA Today