

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner urged residents to stay in their homes and off the roads.įederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief Brock Long had earlier warned eastern Texans that the window to be evacuated was closing rapidly. But the county's top elected official insisted that residents of the city should not evacuate. Ed Emmett, the Harris County judge, said although the hurricane was expected to dump lots of rain on Houston, the city wasn't expected to receive the large amounts of storm surge expected in other areas. Governor Abbott urged residents of Houston, a city of 2.3 million people, to head north away from the coast. The storm is expected to slow further and flood the area with rain up to the middle of next week. US President Donald Trump signed a disaster proclamation for the state as Hurricane Harvey strengthened to Category 4.Īfter the storm hit the Texas coast with 209 kph (130 mph) winds, it was later downgraded to a Category 1 as it settled over the southeast of the state.

Read more: Climate change makes weather extremes the new normal Governor Greg Abbott had earlier warned coastal residents to get out of harm's way immediately. As many as 5.8 million people were in the forecast path of the storm path. Tens of thousands of residents fled the "life-threatening" winds and rains set to slam the coast and potentially swamp counties as far as 100 miles (161 kilometers) inland. Hundreds of thousands of people on the coast were without power early on Saturday morning, according to the local Houston Chronicle.Ĭities from northern Mexico to Louisiana were bracing for flooding.

#Texas hurricane aftermath windows#
"I have these miniature donkeys and I don't know where they are," he said, as he sat in a Jeep with windows smashed by the storm. Valdez, 57, said he stayed through the storm to look after his animals. The storm ripped part of the roof from his trailer home atĪround 4 a.m., he said. "It was terrible," said resident Joel Valdez. RalstonĪt a recreational vehicle sales lot, a dozen vehicles were flipped over and one had been blown into the middle of the street. A potential sign of worse to come: The US flag tangled in power lines by high winds Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. People don’t listen," Patrick Rios told reporters Friday, according to media reports. It's not something we like to do but it’s the reality. Rockport's acting mayor earlier had advised people to write their name and social security number on their arms in permanent marker. Even ahead of the hurricane's landfall, seaside houses were battered by strong winds Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. They said that a high school, a hotel, a senior housing complex and other buildings being used as shelters had been damaged by the storm. Officials and media in the coastal city of Rockport, where the first fatality has been reported, are already reporting significant damage. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he would activate 1,800 members of the military to help with the statewide clean-up while 1,000 people would conduct search-and-rescue operations.

Hurricane Harvey, the most powerful storm to hit the US state of Texas since 1961, made landfall on Friday evening, as authorities warned of catastrophic ocean surges and winds. The storm has ripped off roofs, snapped powerlines, and triggered tornadoes and flash floods.
