'Life-threatening' rainfall expected in Texas, hurricane center says
Story highlights
- Hurricane center warns of days of rain
- Storm could start affecting life in Texas on Friday
(CNN)Highways
in Texas filled with cars Thursday into the night as coastal residents
made their way north and out of the path of a hurricane that forecasters
say will bring "life-threatening" amounts of rain.
Some
areas could get as many as 35 inches of rain from Hurricane Harvey and
many will get more than a foot, forecasters from the National Hurricane
Center said. Harvey has strengthened to a Category 2 storm, with maximum
sustained winds of 100 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
As
Harvey gained strength Thursday, residents along the Texas coast made
the choice to evacuate or stay. Those staying in place aren't taking any
chances; they're filling sandbags, stocking up on water and boarding up
windows.
Harvey
is rapidly becoming more powerful and is forecast to become a Category 3
hurricane with winds of at least 111 mph by the time it hits the middle
Texas coast late Friday or early Saturday, the hurricane center said
Thursday. After hitting Corpus Christi, the storm is expected to stall
over the state, forecasters say.
In
Corpus Christi, where Harvey could make landfall and Mayor Joe McComb
has issued a voluntary evacuation order, Walmart shelves were clearing
quickly, as the city canceled Friday's dockets in city court and
provided self-serve sandbags to residents.
Hurricane-force
winds are a concern as the storm builds strength in the Gulf of Mexico,
and a potential deluge and subsequent flooding may be a big danger as
well, according to meteorologists.
"Harvey is likely to bring
multiple hazards, including heavy rainfall, storm surge and possible
hurricane conditions to portions of the Texas coast beginning Friday,"
the National Weather Service said.
"Those conditions can happen far away from the landfall," hurricane specialist John Cangialosi said Thursday afternoon.
People
shouldn't focus on where the eye will come ashore but should listen to
local authorities and be prepared for rain through the weekend and
possibly into next week, he added.
"This
is really going to stretch the emergency services in the state of Texas
in the days ahead," CNN meteorologist Tom Sater said.
Making preparations
Northbound
Interstate 37 out of Corpus Christi was filled as people evacuated. The
highway, which goes to San Antonio, was backed up for miles while the
southbound lanes were mostly empty, a photo from Mari C. Rivera shows.
Rose
Yepez told CNN it took her twice as long as normal to drive from Corpus
Christi to San Antonio. Yepez, who was continuing her travels to the
Texas Hill Country, said traffic was constantly slowing down and coming
to a stop during the 140-mile drive.
Northbound traffic was using the shoulder and three regular lanes to get out of Corpus Christi.
Not everyone is leaving. Rebecca Esparza of Corpus Christi said her family is prepared to stay in their now-boarded up house.
"I want to leave, but I refuse to leave my mom behind," she said, noting that her mom rode out Hurricane Celia in 1970.
"We have lots of bottled water, satellite radio, lanterns, bagged ice," she said.
Amanda Weldy is staying put, too.
Amanda Weldy plans to ride out the storm with her family.
She
said the family is freezing lots of bottled water to keep perishable
food cold. She also plans to have everyone shower Friday morning then
fill up the tub in case the water lines get contaminated.
"Mostly we are just making sure our 2- and 1-year-old have everything they need," she said.
Other people around Corpus Christi started stocking up Wednesday on food, bottled water and other essentials.
"We
know that if anything as far as flooding happens, that's the one thing
everyone runs to, we have to have water," Mariah Barter told CNN
affiliate KZTV. "It's a big deal. It scares the hell out of people. It's better to be prepared."
Many residents of South Texas readied sandbags, fueled up power generators and bought plywood to board up their windows, CNN affiliate KRIS reported.
Slow storm means more rain
At
11 p.m. ET, Harvey was a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds. It was
about 250 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, and was moving northwest
at 10 mph.
It's expected to bring
15 to 25 inches of rain to the Texas coast, with isolated instances
where rainfall totals could reach 35 inches, the hurricane center said.
"Rainfall from Harvey will cause devastating and life-threatening flooding," the center warned.
Rainfall amounts increase exponentially when a storm moves at a slower speed, as Harvey has been doing.
The
National Hurricane Center has warned Harvey will slow down when it
reaches the coast and there will be days of heavy rain and flooding
across portions of Texas. Louisiana and Mexico will also be affected by
the storm.
Compounding potential
problems is the tidal cycle. If peak storm surge arrives during high
tide, parts of the coast could see 1 to 8 feet of flooding, with the
potential of 6 to 12 feet between Padre Island National Seashore and
Sargent, Texas.
"Historically,
water from tropical cyclones is more deadly" than from damage done by
the powerful winds of the storm, Cangialosi said.
While
it has been nine years since Texas last saw a hurricane, the state is
no stranger to devastating flooding from tropical systems. In 2001,
Tropical Storm Allison was a multibillion-dollar disaster for the state,
specifically Houston. Allison became nearly stationary for days,
dropping more than 30 inches of rain across portions of the city.
A
hurricane warning is in effect from Port Mansfield near Mexico to
Sargent, with a storm surge warning stretching from Port Mansfield to
High Island in Galveston County.
Harvey
could be the first hurricane to hit Texas since 2008 when Hurricane Ike
smashed the coast near Galveston. The storm killed 21 people in Texas,
Louisiana and Arkansas, and caused widespread destruction.
'It scares the hell out of people'
As Harvey churned toward Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster
Wednesday in 30 counties along the Gulf of Mexico. The governor's
action allows agencies to "quickly deploy resources for the emergency
response."
"Texans believe in
taking action and always being prepared in the event of an emergency,"
Abbott said. "That is why I am taking every precaution prior to ...
Harvey making landfall."
On Thursday the governor activated 700 members of the Texas Army Guard, Texas Air National Guard and the Texas State Guard.
Energy
companies are evacuating personnel from off-shore production platforms,
the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced.
In San Antonio, Mayor Ron Nirenberg issued a local disaster declaration warned residents about going out in the rain.
There are evacuation orders in many counties and cities, including Victoria, near where the eye of the storm may hover for days.
At
a Thursday afternoon White House briefing, Press Secretary Sarah
Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump has been briefed on Harvey.
She downplayed concerns about preparedness, given that there is no
permanent Homeland Security secretary, and said the White House is in
"great shape," given that chief of staff John Kelly was previously in
charge of the office.
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