Shop scrums, fragile babies and gator alerts

Corpus Christi shoppers frantically snapped up supplies as Hurricane Harvey approached and some stores were stripped of essentials such as bottled water and bread.

As Harvey barrelled toward the Texas coast, 10 infants in intensive care were airlifted from the path of the storm, and within 18 hours they were safely in Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth.

The “medically-fragile” babies were all born in the last few weeks. And the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office issued a graphic warning about alligators from @txgatorsquad which said, “Expect them to be displaced. Simply looking for higher ground. Leave alone until water recedes.”

Late last night Hurricane Harvey had settled over southeast Texas, dumping rain and lashing the state’s Gulf Coast with damaging winds.

The storm gradually weakened over several hours after making landfall but the National Hurricane Centre said it was still sustaining winds of 185km/h.

Early damage reports from Gulf Coast cities included collapsed roofs and walls, including at a senior living home and a school.

But officials remained largely unable to assess the damage before daylight, local time.

The storm is expected to slow further and flood the area with rain through the middle of next week and life-threatening storm surges along a coastal area of more than 643km.