Texas hunkers down as Hurricane Harvey lashes coast
CORPUS CHRISTI, Aug 26 ( AFP) - Powerful wind and heavy rain from Hurricane Harvey lashed the Gulf Coast of Texas on Saturday, uprooting trees, tearing off roofs and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee. Harvey, the most powerful storm to hit the US mainland in 12 years, roared ashore late Friday at the town of Rockport -- near Corpus Christi, a major US oil industry hub -- as a Category Four hurricane on the five- level storm scale, packing sustained winds of 130 miles per hour.
A few hours later the storm made a second landfall just north of Rockport as a Category Three hurricane, with winds of 125 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Over the next hours Harvey lost strength as it moved inland over south Texas and eventually dropped to a still- dangerous Category One storm, with winds of 85 mph.
More damage however is expected from the heavy rain than from the strong wind: the NHC warned of likely “catastrophic and life- threatening flooding” due to the massive rainfall forecast and the huge storm surge, which could reach 13 feet in some places.
President Donald Trump granted Texas Governor Greg Abbott's request to declare a “major disaster” zone in the state to speed federal aid to the millions in harm's way. Abbott in turn activated more than 1,000 National Guardsmen to help with evacuation and recovery.
Meteorologists warned that tornadoes were possible through Saturday from Texas into Louisiana, which is also expected to take a major hit.
The powerful storm has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and crippled oil production in the Gulf. There was widespread tree damage in Rockport and vehicles damaged “all over the place,” as well as 10 people injured from roof collapses, City Manager Kevin Carruth said.
As he headed to the Camp David presidential retreat for the weekend with his family, Trump said: “Good luck to everybody.”
Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to hit the mainland since Wilma struck Florida in 2005, could dump up to 40 inches of rain on the area over the next few days - and cause billions of dollars in damage. 2005 was a huge year for hurricanes - before Wilma, Hurricane Katrina pummeled New Orleans, leaving more than 1,800 dead.
Coastal Texas is a fast-growing area, with some 1.5 million people moving into the area since 1999. Authorities said the combination of dense growth