Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas near Corpus Christi late Friday/early Saturday morning as an imposing category four hurricane with winds of 131 mph. As of 6 am ET, the storm was downgraded to a category one hurricane as it moved inland with sustained winds reaching a maximum of 90 mph.
However has Harvey weakens as it makes its way over the southern part of Texas, rainfall continues to be the biggest worry for residents of the area.
Prior to making landfall, officials at the National Hurricane Center predicted a 12-foot storm surge with up to 40 inches of rain which is expected to continue through Wednesday. And as high pressure moves through the midwest causing Harvey to essentially stall over Texas, the Lone Star state could be in for devastating flooding something that area hasn’t seen in decades.
The photos and videos already emerging from the storm have been incredible.
#Harvey makes landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near Corpus Christi #TXWX #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/EznPzGJjdU
— Suvro Banerji (@suvCBS) August 26, 2017
And in some cases the ocean and relocated itself to the front steps of beachside buildings.
Hard to sleep with the roar of the wind in Port Lavaca TX as the eye of #Harvey makes its closest approach. Water rise record 5.5′ so far. pic.twitter.com/mvYaluipxu
— Mike Seidel (@mikeseidel) August 26, 2017
From 1 am. The calm eye had passed and #Hurricane #HARVEY‘s backside was blasting Rockport. pic.twitter.com/MevAi0r9bY
— Josh Morgerman (@iCyclone) August 26, 2017
https://twitter.com/Caller_Jules/status/901410572591300608
As of this morning, roughly 213,000 customers had lost power, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
Friday night, Donald Trump signed a a disaster declaration which he says “unleashes the full force of government help”.
At the request of the Governor of Texas, I have signed the Disaster Proclamation, which unleashes the full force of government help!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2017
The declaration will allow federal funding to help the most devastated areas of the storm.
We’ll have more as it becomes available.
