FLOOD OF FEARS
2 dead, towns crippled as Harvey douses Texas
HURRICANE Harvey wreaked havoc on Texas on Saturday as crippling downpours and 130-mph winds killed two people and reduced parts of the state to rubble.
The mayor of Houston predicted the most powerful hurricane to hit the Lone Star State since 1961 could dump up to 3 feet of rain over the next few days — on top of the 20 inches already recorded in certain areas.
An average of 4 to 5 inches per hour pounded down from the Texas skies beginning about 4 a.m., continuing unabated into the evening.
High flood water is being blamed for a death on Houston’s west side. Police say a woman drove through a flooded street and opened her car door. Neighbors found her 30 yards from her vehicle.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (photo inset opposite page) echoed Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s concerns about the incessant rain, citing the “potential for very dramatic flooding.”
The storm lost some of its punch as it moved inland, with winds dropping to about 60 mph as Harvey was downgraded to a tropical storm. But there was no weather respite in sight around the state.
Water-weary Texans were hit with tornadoes, torrential rains and threats of flash flooding. The hurricane also knocked out power to some 300,000 people.
The storm’s first victim died in a house fire in Rockport, a coastal Texas town of 10,000 where about half the residents rode out the storm.
An additional 14 people were injured after ignoring dire warnings to get out of town before the hurricane hit about 9:45 p.m. on Friday. Rockport was left without power and cell phone and internet service.
“There’s been widespread devastation,” Mayor C.J. Wax told CNN on Saturday. “We’ve taken a severe blow from the storm, but we’re anticipating another one when the flooding comes.”
Rockport resident Pamela Montes said she knew many locals who stayed behind because “no one felt like it was going to hit.”
Once it did the residents were left to the whims of the storm. A Coast Guard helicopter airlifted a couple stranded with their dog near Rockport to safety about 11:30 a.m., with all three listed in good condition.
“Potentially catastrophic” rains were expected to continue for days, raising the possibility of recurring problems across the state, according to National Hurricane Center specialist Eric Blake.
“Our focus is shifting to the extreme and potentially historic levels of flooding that we could see,” Blake said.
The Coast Guard also plucked 18 people aboard a tugboat and two others ships, bringing all to safety near Port Aransas.
Port Aransas Mayor Charles Bujan said the damage in the city was “massive,” with workers trying to dig out the rubble. Local officials, like those around the state, were trying to determine the exact extent of the damage.
But evidence of the storm’s ferocity was widespread. A ministorage facility in Katy was destroyed, while trees were torn from the ground and street signs